Shinto and Greeks: The Titan's Curse
by Shinobi Duelist
Summary: Reiji Sakazuki was always a different kid. Always had been, always would be. But at his middle school dance, he discovers maybe, just maybe, he isn't as different as he thinks. "Mother and father in heaven...please watch over me...I'm about to do something stupid again." OC Self-Insert. Rated T for now.
1. Chapter 1: Middle School Dance

**Story will not be based around Percy. It will be based around my OC (Yes, it has a self-insert. Get over it). Story may stray from the original plot. Character is a Shinto Demigod, but also falls under the jurisdiction of Greece and has a chance for the great prophecy (will be explained at a later time). I'm not sure about the pairing just yet. PercyXAnnabeth definitely. Starts at the beginning of the Titan's curse.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson &amp; The Olympians**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Middle School Dance**

Reiji was wandering through the halls of Westover Hall, humming a tune as music played. He stopped in the entrance hall and leaned against a pillar, yawning lightly as he closed his eyes and listened to the music. He had always liked music, rock, dubstep, classical, anything. It always had a calming effect on him, even if it was an incredibly insane song. Of course he had songs he didn't like, but most music calmed him.

Reiji was always different from other kids at his boarding school. The first thing was his name: Reiji Sakazuki. He was born in an area near Japan, so his mother had given him a Japanese name. He never knew his father, which annoyed him to no end when people bullied him about it. It sure as hell didn't help that his mother had died 2 years before, when he was 12. Honestly the only people he connected with were the Di Angelo siblings: Bianca and Nico, who didn't know their parents either, and his friend Grover.

Another thing that made him different was that he could...sense a person's presence. He could tell what a person was kind of like or what they best related to just by being near them. For example Nico, even though he was always smiling, gave off the presence of death itself, but not in a bad way. It was a happy death, as if the person were finding peace. Meanwhile Bianca gave off a presence of darkness, but again, not in a bad way. It was a comforting darkness, like when you went to sleep and the darkness helped you.

The next thing were his looks. He has spiky black hair that covered his eyes and reached just below his shoulders. When people could see his eyes, they were a deep crimson that seemed to stare into the soul. Bianca and Nico didn't mind this. Nico thought it was pretty cool while Bianca said it made him unique. He was also paler than a normal person, not too much, but just enough to notice. His clothing consisted of a black pair of jeans, white sneakers, a black shirt and a black leather jacket with a hood. Around his neck was a necklace with a storm symbol. He also wore earrings, the one on his right ear with a moon symbol, and the one on his left ear with a sun symbol.

He had gotten his jewelry a few years before, when he was 10. He had just received a letter from his apparent father and his aunt and uncle. The only words written on it were: _'Be ready.' _He didn't really get why he received the letter, but the jewelry was pretty cool, so he wore it. He also wore a silver ring on his index finger, another gift from his father.

That day his hair was tied back in a pony tail, his hair still spiky, just collected together. But while it was in a pony tail you could actually see his eyes. He usually tied his hair back at Bianca's request, because she preferred to talk to him when she could see his face properly.

He kept humming along with the music, enjoying the peace and quiet, when he heard the oak doors groan open. He heard a voice go, "Woah." He cracked open an eye and looked at who had just entered. It was a group of three teens: two girls and one boy.

The first girl he saw was, in his opinion, kind of cute. She had black, spiked up hair and electric blue eyes. She had freckles across her nose, but it just made her seem cuter in his mind. She wore punk style clothes: a black jacket, torn black jeans and a black T-shirt. On her wrist was a silver bracelet. Her presence was like raging thunder, ready to strike at any minute, easily prone to anger. However there was also a gentle breeze, which told him that she was also kind.

The other girl looked pretty, but wasn't Reiji's type. She had curly blonde hair that was tied back in a pony tail, and stormy grey eyes. She wore an orange T-shirt that read 'Camp Half-Blood', which raised one of Reiji's eyebrows. She also wore a pair of blue jeans and had what looked like a Yankee's cap stuffed in her back pocket. He could see something was hidden on one of her pockets, but payed it no mind. Her presence was like gears turning, which told Reiji that the girl was clever, but he also sensed their was one gear bigger than the others, doing most of the work, which told him that she was somewhat arrogant.

The boy was pretty cool looking in Reiji's mind. He had shaggy black hair and sea green eyes. He wore the same T-shirt as the blonde haired girl, but also wore a black jacket over it, along with blue jeans. He was definitely the one that had gone 'Woah' just a moment ago. His presence was like the sea, calm and gentle. But ready to crush any that deny the tides. This told him the boy was kind, nice to his friends, but ready to jump into battle if anyone messed with him.

Overall Reiji thought they would not act well together. He moved into the shadows nearby and watched, listening to what they said.

The blonde girl started to say, "I wonder where-"

The doors slammed behind them, and Reiji's eyes narrowed. That was not natural.

"Oo-kay," the black haired boy mumbled. "Guess we'll stay awhile."

The music shifted at the other end of the hall. It sounded a lot more like music you'd dance to now.

The three teens put their bags behind a pillar, as if hiding them, and started to walk down the hall. Reiji followed silently. The group didn't make it very far before Reiji heard footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and woman- Dr Thorn and Ms Gottschalk- marched out to intercept them.

They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. Ms Gottschalk had a wispy mustache, and Dr Thorn was clean-shaven, which definitely should have been the other way around. They both walked stiffly, as if something were attached to them and keeping them standing straight.

"Well?" Ms Gottschalk demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"Um…" the black haired boy muttered. Reiji quickly understood they were not supposed to be here. Then he grew suspicious as to _why _they were here. The black haired boy kept speaking, "Ma'am, we were just-"

"Ha!" Dr Thorn snapped. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be _eee-jected_!" Oh yes, Dr Thorn had a French accent, so his J sounded like he pronounced _Jacques_. Dr Thorn was really tall and menacing with his hawkish face. It did not help that his nostrils flared when he spoke and his eyes were mismatched: one brown, one blue.

Reiji was ready for Dr Thorn to chuck them out, but the black haired girl stepped forward and snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud. Reiji shivered as he felt a gust of wind rip across the room. Suddenly he had the distinct impression the three had been students here for a long time...then he frowned. No that wasn't right. They had only arrived a few minutes ago.

"Oh, but we're not visitors, sir," the black haired girl said. "We go to school here. You remember: I'm Thalia. And this is Annabeth and Percy. We're in the eighth grade." Reiji's eyes narrowed. There was something off about these teens. And he didn't like it.

Dr Thorn narrowed his two-colored eyes. But something strange was happening. Dr Thorn seemed to be hesitating, as if trying to remember something like Reiji just had.

He looked to his colleague. "Ms Gottschalk, do you know these students?"

The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "I… yes. I believe I do, sir." She frowned at them. "Annabeth. Thalia. Percy. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"

Reiji glanced and saw Grover running over. He expected Grover knew them, so he made his move. He ran out. "Yo! Thalia! Percy! Annabeth!"

The three looked to him in surprise, as did Grover and the two teachers. He stopped in front of the three. "I told you three not to wander too far from the gym! You nearly got in trouble!" He sent the teacher's an apologetic look.

Thalia, Annabeth and Percy tried to hide their shock, with varying degrees of success. He turned back to the three. "Come on! Let's get back before Grover starts wondering where we disappeared to!"

Ms Gottschalk nodded, and Dr Thorn looked at Reiji with sympathy, as if he had just been caught under a spell. "Yes, run along." Ms Gottschalk said to them.

With a chorus of 'Yes, ma'ams' and 'Yes, sirs' along with a few salutes, the group walked away. Heading towards Grover.

Once they had gotten far enough, Reiji glanced at Grover. "G. Are these the friends of yours you told me so much about?"

"Ah, yes!" the boy said. "Percy, Thalia, Annabeth. This is my friend, Reiji Sukazuki. Reiji, these are Percy, Thalia and Annabeth."

Reiji nodded and looked at them. "You owe me."

Thalia's nostrils flared. "Excuse me? We had that under control!"

Reiji rolled his eyes. "Yeah, of course. Oh, and pigs fly, the sky is purple, space has oxygen and the Greek gods still exist." If he didn't turn he might have noticed them stiffen. They arrived at a door that had GYM written on the glass. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go hang out with Nico and Bianca." Reiji looked at Grover. "I want an explanation later G." Before he could receive an answer, he opened the door over to the siblings.

Nico and Bianca were standing in a corner, just talking. Reiji arrived. "Hey you two."

Nico smiled. "Big bro!" He tackled Reiji in a hug and he smiled.

"Hello Reiji," Bianca said with a smile.

Bianca was wearing a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. Nico was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. Nico was shuffling his Mythomagic cards. Bianca seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.

"Why are you two just standing here? Why aren't you partying?" Reiji asked.

Bianca raised an eyebrow. "I could ask you the same."

"Touche."

Nico smiled. "Hey big bro! Can we play Mythomagic?"

"Eh sure," he sat at a table, and Nico sat opposite. "Oh! And here little man, I kinda missed your birthday last time, but I got you a present." Out his pocket he took out a figurine and handed it to him.

Nico's eyes widened. "Y-You got me Hades? But he's one of the rarest ones! How did you get him?"

"I went to a tournament over the summer and the reward was Hades." Reiji explained. "And I remembered you, so I decided to enter. Anyway, I managed to win and voila."

Nico smiled widely. "Thanks big bro!" He looked to his sister. "Isn't this great Bianca?"

Bianca smiled. "It sure is Nico," she looked to Reiji. "Thanks."

"Hey no prob, we're friends after all." Reiji said with a grin. "So, we gonna play?" Nico nodded and they set up the table. They played 3 games, and the results were fairly even. Reiji won the first game, with Nico winning the second. They ended up drawing on the third.

Just as they were about to begin the fourth game, Dr Thorn went up to them. "Excuse me," he said. "Are you having fun?"

"Yes sir," Nico said with a smile. Bianca nodded in agreement, though Reiji looked at him with caution. He had never really trusted Thorn.

"Good," the teacher said. "Could you two please come with me?"

"Why?" Nico said worried. "Did we do something wrong?"

"No, no, no," Dr Thorn promised. "I just need to speak with you and your sister. In private."

Nico nodded, collecting all his stuff and stood up. "Bye big bro."

"Goodbye Reiji," Bianca said politely.

"Yeah, bye," Reiji waved as the siblings left with Dr Thorn. As soon as they left, Reiji stood up. He looked across the floor and noticed that Annabeth and Percy were looking in his direction urgently. Reiji watched with suspicion. Why were they interested in him...no...not him...Bianca and Nico. The two disappeared into the crowd. Reiji quickly ran through the place Bianca and Nico had disappeared to. And his blood ran cold.

Bianca's cap was laying on the ground. Some of Nico's cards were on the floor, scattered (but thankfully protected with card sleeves). He looked around and saw Dr Thorn leading the two away by the scruffs of their necks. He glanced over and saw Percy was looking at him as well. Then he looked at where Thorn had disappeared to with his friends. Reiji growled. He quickly picked up Bianca's cap and Nico's cards, and hurried after Thorn. Percy seemed to hesitate when he ran off, but he quickly followed.

* * *

The door led into a dark hallway. Reiji heard sounds of scuffling up ahead, then a painful grunt. Reiji, subconsciously, clutched his necklace, as if it would somehow help in. He heard the sound of a pen lid being taken off and glanced back. His eyes widened. Percy was standing there, a bronze sword that seemed to glow pointed at Reiji's back.

"Don't move," Percy warned. "Why are you following Thorn and the siblings?"

Reiji turned with surprising force, which made Percy jump. "Why wouldn't I run after my friends when some Psycho is hurting them?" He said in a harsh whisper before he turned away and hurried down the hall. He heard footsteps behind, indicating Percy was following him.

The twp jogged down the corridor, but when they got to the other end, no one was there. Reiji opened a door and found himself back in the main entry hall. Reiji's blood ran cold. He saw both Bianca and Nico standing on the other end of the hall looking at him and Percy in horror. Where was Thorn?

Percy didn't seem as worried as Reiji was. He advanced slowly, lowering the tip of his sword. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

They didn't answer. Their eyes were full of fear. Reiji's mind was moving at a hundred miles an hour. Nico and Bianca weren't afraid of him. And they certainly weren't afraid of the sword in Percy's hand. They were looking somewhere else..._behind _them.

"My name's Percy," the black haired boy said, trying to keep his voice level. "I'm going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe."

Bianca's eyes widened and her fists clench. As if following his instincts, Reiji ducked as Percy turned. Something went _WHIIISH_! Percy yelled in pain. A huge hand yanked him and slammed him against a wall.

He slashed with his sword, but all he hit was air.

A cold laugh echoed through the hall, Reiji shivered.

"Yes, Perseus _Jackson_." Thorn's voice echoed, his accent causing him to say Jackson in a slightly different way. "I know who you are."

Percy tried to free my shoulder. His coat and shirt were pinned to the wall by some kind of spike—a black dagger-like projectile about a foot long. It had grazed the skin of his shoulder as it passed through his clothes. There was a mild green liquid and Reiji quickly understood exactly what the problem was. Poison. Percy had been hit by poison.

Percy's face was struggling with concentration, as if staying conscious were incredibly difficult.

A dark silhouette moved forwards, Dr Thorn stepping into the dim light. He still looked human, but his face was ghoulish. He had perfect white teeth and his brown/blue eyes reflected the light of Percy's sword.

Reiji wanted to scream, but he didn't trust his voice.

"Thank you for coming out the gym," Thorn said. "I hate middle school dances."

Percy tried to swing his sword again, but Thorn was just out of it's reach.

Reiji's eyes widened and he moved out the way. A second projectile shot from behind Thorn, as if something invisible were standing behind him throwing knives. Reiji had just barely avoided it. Bianca screamed.

He turned and ran to his friend. The second thorn had impaled itself in the stone wall, half an inch from her face.

"All of you will come with me," Dr Thorn said. "Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately I can throw."

Reiji spoke just quietly enough for Thorn not to hear. "Mother and father in heaven...please watch over me...I am about to do something stupid again..."


	2. Chapter 2: He's a what?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson &amp; The Olympians. The only character I own is my OC**

* * *

**Chapter 2: He's a what?**

Reiji did not know what the hell was going on, but he knew that Dr Thorn moved fast.

Reiji debated grabbing Bianca and Nico and running with them. He could pick them up easily enough. However he didn't think that he'd be able to escape Thorn's...well...thorns. He was certain that if he tried to run, Thorn would kill him before he could even scream. And even then, he would be leaving Percy to face Dr Thorn alone, and his conscience would never let him.

"What are you doing, Jackson?" hissed Thorn. "Keep moving!"

He heard Percy shuffle forward. "It's my shoulder," he said, sounding miserable. Though Reiji had a feeling something was up. "It burns."

"Bah! My poison causes pain. It will not kill you. Walk!"

Thorn herded the four of them outside, and Reiji tried to steady his breathing. He looked up and noticed that the clouds had parted and the moon was visible. He stared at the moon, and felt a kind of...pulse inside himself, as if the moon were giving him strength. He wanted to attack Thorn, but lacked the confidence to do so. He was a coward.

Thorn led them into the woods. They took a snowy path dimly lit by old-fashioned lamp lights. Reiji kept just focusing on his breathing. He treated it as if it were music, and it helped him calm down. The wind blew through, rippling his clothes. He felt cold, but he just focused on his breathing.

"There is a clearing ahead," Thorn said. "We will summon your ride."

"What ride?" Bianca demanded. "Where are you taking us?"

"Silence, you insufferable girl!"

"Don't talk to my sister that way!" Nico said. His voice quivered, but Reiji was amazed he could speak in the first place. He felt weak compared to Nico, who was willing to stand up for his sister.

Dr. Thorn made a growling sound that definitely wasn't human. It made the hairs on Reiji's neck stand up straight, but he forced himself to keep walking, focusing on his breathing. He took deep, calming breaths that were used for meditation. He felt another pulse.

"Halt," Thorn said.

The woods had opened up. They had reached a cliff that was by the sea. At least, Reiji could hear the waves, and he swore he could sense it too. But all he saw when he looked down was mist and darkness.

Dr Thorn pushed them towards the edge. Percy stumbled, but Bianca caught him.

"Thnaks," he mumbled.

"What _is _he?" Bianca asked. "How do we fight him?"

"I...I'm working on it."

"I'm scared," Nico mumbled. Reiji saw him playing with a figurine- the figurine of Hades, the one he had given him not too long ago.

"Stop talking!" Thorn said. "Face me!"

They turned.

Thorn's two-tone eyes glittered hungrily. He pulled something from under his coat. At first Reiji thought it was a weapon of some kind, but it was only a phone. He pressed the side button and said, "The package—it is ready to deliver."

Reiji shivered. He didn't like how they were called a 'package'. There was a garbled reply, and Reiji realized Thorn was using the phone like a walkie-talkie. The crimson eyes boy looked into Thorn's eyes. Then he looked to the moon. He felt another pulse. He heard the waves stirring, and he felt as if he were growing stronger. The pulses, the waves. To him it felt like music.

He saw Percy glance behind him, as if measuring something.

Dr Thorn laughed. "By all means, Son of Poseidon. _Jump! _There is the sea. Save yourself."

Reiji blinked. He saw something swish behind Thorn...a tail. He paled. He had read Greek Mythology. He was highly interested in it. Percy...son of Poseidon...tail...Reiji was kidding before when he said the Greek gods were real. Was it actually possible...?

"What did he call you?" Bianca muttered.

"I'll explain later," Percy said.

"You do have a plan, right?"

Reiji gulped. He decided to stall for time. "Why don't you kill us?"

"I could kill you whenever I want," Thorn said. "I would kill you before any of you reached the water. Have you not yet realized who I am?"

Reiji saw his tail flicker again. Reiji was now really thankful he read up on Greek Mythology. Mismatched eyes...a tail...using thorns...This was a monster.

"A Manticore," Reiji blurted out, surprising Percy. "That's what you are isn't it Thorn?"

Dr Thorn grinned. "Very clever, for a regular mortal. Unfortunately, the sea spawn and the siblings are wanted alive. If I killed you, the siblings may kill themselves, so you can live...for now."

"Who wants us?" Bianca demanded. "Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We don't have any family. Nico and I…" Her voice broke a little. "We've got no one but each other and Reiji."

"Aww," Thorn said. "Do not worry, little brats. You will be meeting my employer soon enough. Then you will have a brand new family."

"Luke," Percy said. "You work for Luke."

Thorn's mouth twisted with distaste when Percy said that name (he guessed Thorn didn't really like this Luke guy). "You have no idea what is happening, Perseus Jackson. I will let the General enlighten you. You are going to do him a great service tonight. He is looking forward to meeting you."

"The General?" Percy asked. Reiji nearly face palmed when he said it in a French accent. "I mean...who's the General?"

Thorn ignored him, looking at the horizon. "Ah, here is your transportation."

Reiji turned and saw a light in the distance, a searchlight over the sea. He heard the chopping of a helicopter blades, getting louder and louder as time passed and it got closer.

"Where are you taking us?" Nico said.

"You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls."

"They're not dolls! They're figurines! And you can take your great army and—"

"Now, now," Dr. Thorn warned. "You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And if you do not, well… there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway."

"The what now?" Reiji said, trying to keep him distracted.

"The stirring of monsters." Dr. Thorn smiled evilly. "The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!"

"Okay," Bianca whispered to Reiji. "He's completely nuts."

"We have to jump off the cliff," Percy said urgently. "Into the sea."

"Oh super idea," she said sarcastically. "Your completely nuts too."

Percy nor Reiji got a chance to respond as an invisible force slammed into him.

* * *

Reiji was shocked as hell when he felt something invisible slam into him. He, the Di Angelo siblings and Percy were all knocked to the ground. For a split second, Dr Thorn was taken by surprise, so his first volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over their heads. He saw Thalia and Grover approaching from behind and visibly cringed when he saw her shield. On it was the single most _hideous _face he had ever seen.

Thalia looked truly frightening as she charged. She had a huge spear in her right hand, the tip seeming to crackle with electricity as she charged. On her left arm was her shield with the single most hideous face Reiji had ever seen in his life. It was the face of a woman with snakes for hair. If he could have remembered, he would realize it was based on the shield Aegis that had the head of Medusa moulded into the bronze. It wouldn't turn you to stone, but it made enemies so scared they'd panic and run.

Thorn winced and growled when he saw it.

Thalia charged in with her spear. "For Zeus!"

Reiji thought Thorn was about to get his ass kicked. Thalia jabbed at his head, but he snarled and swatted the spear aside. His hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for Aegis, Thalia would've been sliced like a loaf of bread. As it was, she managed to roll backward and land on her feet.

Reiji heard the helicopter getting closer, and he knew they didn't have a lot of time.

Dr. Thorn launched another volley of missiles at Thalia, and but this time Reiji could see how he did it. He had a tail—a leathery, scorpion like tail that bristled with spikes at the tip. The missiles deflected off Aegis, but the force of their impact knocked Thalia down.

Reiji took calming breaths, focusing on the sea. His body pulsed again. The waves rippled in his ears, the pulsing sped up, as if he were listening to music. He closed his eyes.

Grover sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play—a frantic jig that sounded like something pirates would dance to. Grass broke through the snow. Within seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Dr. Thorn's legs, entangling him.

Reiji opened his eyes. He regretted his choice as Thorn began to change. He grew larger until he was in his true form—his face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.

"A Manticore," Annabeth hissed. She was visible now. Reiji saw her cap laying in the snow. It had fallen off when she tackled them.

"Who are you people?" Bianca demanded. "And what is tha-"

"Bianca," Reiji said seriously. "Nico. Get to safety. Retreat into the woods, not too far from here and hide. It's you that Thorn wants."

Bianca looked troubled. "I promise, I'll come and get you once its safe." Bianca reluctantly nodded and she in Nico retreated. Thankfully, Thorn was too busy to notice. The manticore clawed Grover's magic weeds to shreds then turned toward them with a snarl.

"Where are the children?!" Thorn demanded. Deciding not to wait for an answer, he fired a volley of thorns.

"Get down!" Annabeth forced Reiji to the ground. Percy pressed a button his watch and a shield sprouted. Not a moment too soon either, as the thorns impacted against the shield with such force that it dented. Reiji knew it wouldn't be able to survive a second onslaught.

Reiji heard a yelp as Grover landed next to Percy with a thud.

"Yield!" the beast roared.

"Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field. She charged the monster, and for a second, Reiji thought that she would actually run him through. But then there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light from behind them. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides that looked like laser pointers for the rockets. The searchlights blinded Thalia, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the snow. Her spear flew in the other direction.

Annabeth moved of Reiji, ready to fight. He felt another pulse, he heard more waves, and a calm feeling washed through his body. Percy was about to charge, but Reiji beat him too it.

"OOOOHHHHH!" Reiji ran out to help. Percy yelled out, as if trying to stop him. As if acting on instinct, he tore off his necklace and squeezed. The storm emblem turned into a hilt for a sword, the chain turning into a long, silver blade. He parried away a spear that would have hit Thalia's chest. He stared down Thorn, as if daring him to attack. His crimson eyes promised destruction.

For an instant, everyone, even Thorn, was shocked. Then he laughed. "Do you still not see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes!"

"Never!" Reiji growled, and he get a tugging feeling in his gut. He glanced towards the helicopter. If that thing landed, he didn't like his chances.

Then everyone heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods.

* * *

The manticore froze. Nobody moved. There was only the swirl of snow and the gentle breeze. The sound of the helicopter blades filled the air.

"No," Thorn said in disbelief. "It cannot be-"

He was cut off when something whizzed passed Reiji's head like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow slammed into Thorn's shoulder.

He staggered backwards, screaming in agony.

"Curse you!" Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in mid-air and sliced them in two. It shouldn't have been possible, but Reiji was not so foolish as to think it wasn't possible. The last 5 minutes was proof it was.

The manticore pulled out the arrow with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. Reiji held his sword at the ready. His crimson eyes stared into Thorn's. He would have charged, but he expected Thorn was healthier than he looked. This was proven true when he swiped his tail at Reiji, but he moved his sword and stopped it, thought with gritted teeth. His tail was powerful.

Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen, like me. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.

"The Hunters!" Annabeth cried.

Next to Reiji, Thalia muttered. "Oh, how wonderful."

Reiji didn't ask what she meant, but he suspected Thalia had a grudge against them.

One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, looking like a princess of some sort. "Permission to kill, my lady?"

Reiji felt another pulse of energy and gripped his chest. The power was building in him now. He could feel the power of the sea swirling inside him. The light of the moon seemed to shine on him and fill him with power.

"The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the ancient laws!"

"Not so," another girl said. She looked to be around twelve or thirteen. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery yellow like the moon. Her face was beautiful, but her expression was stern and dangerous. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoe, permission granted."

The manticore growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead."

He lunged at Thalia and Reiji, believing them to be weakest.

"No!" Annabeth screamed, about to lunge.

But suddenly Reiji let out a horrible screech as he felt the energy in his body explode outwards. Pitch black flames shot up 10 feet tall around him and Thalia, dancing around them. They blasted towards Thorn and the monster screamed in agony. A huge wave of water rose up behind Percy and Annabeth, moving around them and slammed into Thorn. He yelled as if the water was tearing him apart, and yet he was still on fire. Everyone was shocked, but Reiji just kept screaming.

As if that weren't strange enough, the light from the moon just kept filling him with more power, so much it was hurting his body. He gripped his sword in agony, and black flames danced along it, and it gained a silvery glow. Tears filled his eyes and he thrust his sword towards Thorn, his body acting on its own. A blast of silver energy with black flames dancing around it slammed into Thorn, and the monster dissolved into golden dust, being washed into the sea by the water.

The tugging feeling left him, the sound of the waves died and the water retreated back into the sea. The flames died down, and the silvery glow vanished from his blade. He fell to his knees, dropping his sword. It turned back into his necklace. Thalia looked at him in concern, but it wasn't over just yet.

There was a _snap-snap-snap _from the helicopter- gunfire.

Most of the Hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, but the girl with auburn hair just looked up calmly at the helicopter.

"Mortals," she announced, "are not allowed to witness my hunt."

She thrust out her hand and the helicopter exploded- no it didn't. It turned into a flock of birds- ravens, which scattered into the night.

The Hunters advanced on them, but Reiji was still on his knees, his hand clutching his chest as he panted heavily.

The one called Zoe stopped short when she saw Thalia. "You," she said with distaste.

"Zoe Nightshade," Thalia's voice trembled with anger. "Perfect timing as always."

Zoe scanned them. "Four half-bloods and a satyr, my lady."

"Yes," the younger girl said. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see."

Reiji stood, though it hurt, picking up his necklace. He tried to go into the forest. But one of the Hunter's stopped him.

"Foolish man," she said. "You are hurt. What are you doing?"

Reiji panted. "M-my friends...I promised I'd get them."

The younger girl blinked. "Are they mortals?"

"Half-bloods," Grover answered for Reiji. "They are the reason we're here."

"I see," the younger girl turned to some of her Hunters. "Find them. Tell them it is safe." The Hunter's nodded, rushing into the forest.

Reiji dropped to his knees again, and Grover rushed to his side, Percy following suit. Thalia came over as well, as did Annabeth. "You..." Reiji addressed the younger girl. "Who...who are you?"

Zoe stepped forward as if to smack him.

"No," the other girl ordered. "I sense no disrespect, Zoe. I doubt he even knew he was a half-blood until he unleashed that power. He is weak. He does not understand."

The younger girl looked at Reiji, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon. "I am Artemis," she said. "Goddess of the Moon and Hunt."

Reiji panted, coughing up some blood. "R-Reiji," he managed. "Reiji...Sakazuki..."


	3. Chapter 3: Friendship Or Immortality?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson &amp; The Olympians. I only own my OC character, Reiji Sakazuki.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Friendship Or Immortality?**

"Um...okay." Those were the words Percy Jackson said upon realizing the girl in front of him was the goddess of the Moon, Artemis. Reiji would have face palmed if he weren't so weak. Percy sounded like a moron, he really did. Annabeth actually did face palm at the son of Poseidon's stupidity.

Grover's response was far more intelligent than Percy's. He gasped, then hastily knelt in the snow and started yammering. "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so...you're so...wow!"

"Get up, goat boy!" Thalia snapped. "No need to swoon over her, even if she is a goddess!"

"But...but..." Grover tried to argue, but a glare from Thalia silenced him.

Reiji coughed and Percy checked him. "You okay?"

Reiji gave him an 'are you serious?' look. "Yes Percy," he said sarcastically. "I'm fantastic. I'm just incredibly weak and coughing. Completely normal." Thalia giggled, Annabeth stifled a laugh, Grover chuckled and Percy had the decency to blush. "I'll be fine," Reiji promised. "I just...doing whatever it was I did has left me really weak."

"I would imagine so," Artemis said. "A half-blood has never been known to be able to manipulate both fire and water. It is no wonder you would be so weak, especially without practice."

He heard a yell from the woods. "Hey!" it was a girl's voice. "Let me go!"

"Bianca!" Reiji yelled. "Nico! It's okay! Their friends!"

"Big bro!" Nico's voice came from the woods as he ran out, rushing towards Reiji and hugging him tightly. Bianca was right behind him.

Reiji coughed a little, and the half-blood's smiled at how close Nico seemed to be to Reiji. "I'm fine Nico," Reiji said, his voice still weak. "I just used a lot of energy beating up the bad guy."

"You mean you beat that...that _thing_?" Bianca asked in shock.

"Yeah he did," Percy promised. "And it was awesome."

"Coolest thing I've seen," Thalia agreed.

"Would have been better with a plan," Annabeth said. "But it was okay."

"That's awesome!" Nico's eyes sparkled. "You beat the manticore! That thing had three thousand attack power and plus 5 to saving throws! And you beat it!"

"This isn't your game Nico!" Bianca snapped. Everyone looked to her. She pointed a finger to all of them in turn, except Reiji and Nico. "Who...who are you people?"

Artemis's expression softened."It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you!Who are your parents?"

Bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still looking at Reiji in awe.

"Our parents are dead," Bianca said. "We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but..."

She faltered. Everyone's expressions said they didn't believe her. She looked to Reiji for support, but he was quickly realizing what exactly a 'Half-blood' was.

"What?" she demanded. "I'm telling the truth."

"You are a half-blood," Zoe Nightshade said. Her accent was hard to place. It sounded old-fashioned, as if she was born thousands of years before or reading from a really old book. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian."

"An Olympian...athlete?"

"No," Zoe said. "One of the gods."

"Cool!" Nico said.

"No!" Bianca's voice quivered. "This is not cool!"

Nico danced around, like he really needed the restroom. "Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for-"

"Nico shut up!" Bianca put her hands to her face. "This isn't your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? Gods are not real!"

Bianca once more looked to Reiji for support. Her expression begged that he backed her up, that he agree with her that the gods didn't exist. "Bianca," Reiji said. "Any day before now I would have agreed with you in a heartbeat. But..." he looked to Artemis, then back to her. "The gods are real...this girl is Artemis, the Greek goddess of the Moon and Hunt."

Bianca looked to Artemis in shock. Thalia seemed to pity the siblings, because the anger that was in her eyes subsided slightly. "Bianca, I know it's hard to believe. But gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well… Our lives are dangerous."

"Dangerous," Bianca said in anger. "Is that why Reiji is so week right now?"

Thalia looked away. "I'm fine Bianca," Reiji said. He put a hand to her cheek. "Trust me okay? Have I ever lied to you?"

Bianca looked at him, before shaking her head. "I...I'm scared Reiji..."

"It's okay," Reiji said. Out the corner of his eyes he noticed the Hunters- especially Zoe- giving him looks of hatred. "I'll be fine. I just need to heal up a bit, and I'll be good as new."

"Your friend is strong," Artemis promised. "Never have a seen a Half-blood as strong as him."

"About that..." Grover hesitated.

"What is it satyr?"

"A-as you know, we satyr's specialize in sniffing out half-bloods."

"Yes," Artemis motioned for him to continue.

"I...I have never smelt the scent of a half-blood from Reiji," he said, and everyone except the Di Angelo siblings and Reiji looked shocked. "I have never smelt any half-blood scent from Reiji before. Even now I cannot smell it."

"Impossible," Artemis said. She observed Reiji carefully. He began to get uncomfortable, with everyone's eyes on him. Finally, she said. "Take off your earrings."

Reiji glanced at his earrings and the necklace in his hand. Slowly, very slowly, he took off both his earrings. Immediately, Grover's eyes widened.

"Th-that's impossible," Grover said. "I-I can smell it so clearly now- how could I not before?"

"Magic," Artemis said. "The earrings and necklace hide his scent. Had he not done what he did, then I would too believe him a mortal."

Reiji quickly put his earrings and necklace back on.

"Oo!" Nico suddenly piped up. "What about Dr Thorn? Is he dead?"

"Yes," Artemis said. "He is dead. But he is still a monster, and they reform over time. And each time, they must be hunted."

"Or they'll hunt us," Thalia threw in.

Bianca shivered. "That explains...Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in DC?"

"And that bus driver," Nico said. "The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real."

"That's why Grover has been watching you," Percy said. "To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods."

"Grover?" Bianca stared at him. "You're a demigod?"

"Well, a satyr, actually." He kicked off his shoes and showed her his goat hooves. Bianca looked as if she were about to faint.

"Grover, put your shoes back on," Thalia said. "You're freaking her out."

"Hey, my hooves are clean!"

"Bianca," Percy said, ignoring his friends, "we came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr. Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp."

"Camp?" she asked.

"Camp Half-Blood," Percy explained. "It's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay there year round if you like."

"Will Reiji come too?" Nico asked.

"He's a half-blood, so yes," Percy said.

"Sweet! Let's go!" Nico grinned.

"Wait," Bianca shook her head. "I don't-"

"There _is _another option," Zoe said.

"No, there isn't!" Thalia growled.

Thalia and Zoe glared at each other. Reiji didn't know what they were talking about, but he had an eerie feeling. All of the Hunters were female. A lot of them seemed young, very young. Young enough to not have hit puberty. They all looked at him with hatred. He remembered a legend about Orion, one of the few males Artemis got along with. He remembered the small mention of the Hunters in the legend, and about how they were...

Reiji's eyes widened. "We've burdened these children enough," Artemis said. "Zoe, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."

"Yes, my lady."

"And, Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you."

"What about me?" Nico asked.

Artemis considered the boy. "Perhaps you could show one of the demigods here how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure they would be more than happy to entertain you."

Annabeth shrugged. "I'll do it."

Nico and Annabeth trudged off to the woods, talking about hit points and armour ratings and movement bonuses, with Grover following. Artemis led a confused Bianca along the cliff. The Hunters began to unpack their knapsacks and set up camp.

Zoe gave Thalia one last, evil look, then left to oversee things.

As soon as she was gone, Thalia stamped her foot in frustration. Reiji moved so he was leaning against a tree. He took an iPod out of his pocket, plugging in headphones and put on some music. "The nerve of those Hunters! They think they're so...urg!"

"I'm with you," Percy agreed. "I don't trust-"

"Oh, you're with me?" Thalia turned on Percy with fury. "What were you thinking back there in the gym, Percy? You'd take on Dr Thorn all by yourself? You _knew _he was a monster! If we'd stuck together, we could've taken him out before the Hunters got involved! Did you think about that?"

Percy's jaw visibly clenched. He looked as if he was about to say something, but he saw Annabeth's Yankee's cap in the snow. He picked it up, glaring one last time at Thalia, before he turned and walked off to give it back to her.

Thalia screamed in frustration. She would have continued, but Reiji's voice stopped her. "Hey," he called. She looked at him. "Do you like Green Day?" Thalia blinked, then grinned. She walked over and sat next to him, putting one of the earphones in her ear.

* * *

While Thalia and Reiji waited for Bianca to finish her talk with Artemis, they listened to music and talked, exchanging stories. Thalia explained about how she had met Luke and Annabeth, and fought off monsters, then met up with Grover and headed for Camp Half-Blood. Her voice cracked as she explained how she sacrificed herself for her friends and her father turned her into a tree. While she was talking, a Hunter had walked over and given Thalia and Reiji their bags.

Reiji put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey," he said. "That was very brave of you. That moment, when you held off the monster's for your friends, you were strong. You should be proud, not because your Zeus's daughter, but because you gave your life to save your friends."

Thalia wiped tears out her eyes and nodded. "Thanks. I needed that. So...what's your story?"

Reiji looked at her, then to his hands. He sighed. "Okay..."

"You don't have to tell me," Thalia said.

"No," Reiji said. "You told me yours, so I'll tell you mine."

He took a deep breath. "I was born on an island off the coast of Japan. My mother was half Japanese and Half American. She named gave me a Japanese name, it was apparently what my father wanted to name me. I thought he had died, but as it turns out he is a god. She moved back to the states when I turned 5, and raised me as best she could. I was happy. On my 10th Birthday I got the jewellery I'm wearing. The moon earring was a gift from my dad. The sun earring was a gift from my aunt and the necklace was a gift from my uncle.

"I also got the silver ring on my index finger, which I'm going to guess does something similar to my necklace. 2 years after I got my jewellery..." his voice cracked. "My mom died..."

Thalia gasped. "I...I'm sorry-"

"Don't," he told her. "You didn't know. Do not pity me." Thalia didn't say anything, so he continued. "My mother left everything she had to me. Her business, her money, bank details, credit card numbers, a house. All of it. I lived nearby so I decided to go to school here. People here...they didn't like me...because I was different. My eyes is what caused it mostly."

"Your eyes?" Thalia asked.

"Red isn't exactly a natural eye colour you know," Reiji told her. "They thought it was weird...they bullied me too. Nothing physical. All of it verbal, but it hurt. They bullied me because I didn't have a father, and because my mother died. They said she died to get away from being my mother..." his fist clenched. "I wanted to hurt them...but I couldn't..."

Thalia looked at him with sympathy and sadness, but he continued. "I cried myself to sleep a lot...it was then I started listening to music. It had a calming effect on me, no matter what it was. It made me feel calm, happy. I felt like I was with my mom again, and she was wrapping me in her arms. I felt even better when the light of the moon shined on me. I felt like I was being hugged by my mom...and maybe my dad too. I felt like...my family was complete...even if it was fake...

"After that, I met Bianca and Nico. We hit it off right away. They accepted me for who I am. They didn't have their parents either, so we really connected. We could relate, and we found out we had a lot in common. I started playing Mythomagic with Nico. I really enjoyed it, and I got interested in Greek Mythology thanks to it, so I started reading about it. And then...well, here we are today."

"I...see..." Thalia said. "You really had it rough."

"Not as rough as you," Reiji told her. "You had to fight for your life at the age of 12. All I lost was my mom. You've had it way worse."

"Maybe..." she breathed.

Reiji might have said something had Zoe Nightshade not come over. "Reiji Sakazuki."

Both Reiji and Thalia looked to her, though Thalia with more anger than Reiji's confusion. Percy was standing behind her, looking annoyed.

"Come with me," she said. "Lady Artemis wishes to speak with thee."

Thalia growled and would have said something, but Reiji shook his head at her. He handed her his iPod. "Listen to some songs to stay calm. I've got all of Green Day's albums on there, so feel free."

Thalia instantly brightened up and began to scroll through songs. Reiji stood up and looked to Zoe. "Lead the way."

* * *

Zoe led them both to the last tent, which looked no different than any of the others, so Reiji was wondering how she told them apart. She waved them inside. Bianca was sitting next to Artemis, even though it was still a little hard to believe it was Artemis.

The inside of the tent was warm and comfortable. Silk rugs and pillows covered the floor. In the center, a golden brazier of fire seemed to burn without fuel or smoke. Behind the goddess, on a polished oak display stand, was her huge silver bow, carved to resemble gazelle horns. The walls were hung with animal pelts: black bear, tiger, and several others that Reiji couldn't recognize. He figured that an animal rights activist would've had a heart attack looking at all the rare skins, but Artemis was the goddess of the hunt. By all rights, they were hers. Reiji noticed another animal laying next to Artemis with its head on her lap- a deer.

"Join us, Percy Jackson, Reiji Sakazuki," she said.

Percy sat across from her on the tent floor. Reiji sat next to Bianca, who looked at him worriedly. The goddess studied the two of them, making them feel uncomfortable. The wisdom in her eyes was a lot for a girl that looked so young.

"Are you surprised by my age?" she asked.

"Yes," Percy said.

"No," Reiji said.

The goddess raised an eyebrow at Reiji. "And why is that?"

"You are a goddess for a reason," he explained. "You could look however you wished most likely. How else would the male and female gods in olden days seduce men and women? They would take on a form appealing to them."

Artemis relented this point. "You are correct of course. I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else I want, but this is what I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I am patron, before they go astray."

"Go astray?" Percy asked.

"Grow up," Reiji said, getting a surprised looked from Percy and an impressed one from Artemis. "Before they fall in love with boys."

"That is correct."

Zoe sat down at Artemis's right. She glared at Reiji and Percy, as if being male were their fault. Like they'd invented the idea of being male.

"You must forgive my Hunters if they do not welcome you," Artemis said. "It is very rare that we would have boys in this camp. Boys are usually forbidden to have any contact with the Hunters. The last one to see this camp…" She looked at Zoe. "Which one was it?"

"That boy in Colorado," Zoe said. "You turned him into a jackalope."

"Ah yes," Artemis nodded, satisfied. "I like making jackalopes."

"Did you turn him back?" Reiji asked suddenly.

Artemis blinked. "Pardon?"

"Did you turn him back?"

"Why would I do that?"

Reiji glared at her, which surprised everyone present. "How do you think that boy's family feels? They could be worried sick, looking for him. They may think he's dead."

Zoe growled. "Hold your tongue! You will speak when spoken to-"

"No Zoe," Artemis said. "He makes a point." She snapped her fingers. "He has been turned back. But I do not expect such disrespect from you next time, demigod."

"I make no promises," Reiji told her.

"At any rate," Artemis continued what she was saying. "I've asked you here so that you may tell me more of the manticore. Bianca has reported some of the...mmm, disturbing things the monster said. But she may not have understood them. I'd like to hear them from the two of you."

And so they told her.

When they were done, Artemis put her hand thoughtfully on her silver bow. "I feared this was the answer."

Zoe leaned forward. "The scent, my lady?"

"Yes."

"What scent?" Percy asked.

"Things are stirring that I have not hunted in millennia," Artemis murmured. "Prey so old I have nearly forgotten."

She stared at Reiji and Percy intently. "We came here tonight sensing the manticore, but he was not the one I seek. Tell me again, exactly what Dr. Thorn said."

"Um, I hate middle school dances," Percy said.

"No, no. After that."

"He said somebody called the General was going to explain things to him," Reiji told her.

Zoe's face paled. She turned to Artemis and started to say something, but Artemis raised her hand.

"Go on," Artemis told him.

"Well, then Thorn was talking about the Great Stirring of Monsters," Reiji continued. "And he said, 'Soon we shall have the most important monster of all- the one that shall bring the downfall of Olympus.'"

The goddess was still. She could have been mistaken for a statue.

"Maybe he was lying," Percy said.

Artemis shook her head. "No. He was not. I've been too slow to see the signs. I must hunt this monster."

Zoe looked like she was trying very hard not to be afraid, but she nodded. "We will leave right away, my lady."

"No, Zoe. I must do this alone."

"But, Artemis-"

"This task is too dangerous even for the Hunters. You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me."

"As...as you wish, my lady."

I will find this creature," Artemis vowed. "And I shall bring it back to Olympus by winter solstice. It will be all the proof I need to convince the Council of the Gods of how much danger we are in."

"You know what this monster is?" Percy asked.

Artemis gripped her bow. "Let us pray I am wrong?"

Reiji hummed as a thought came into his mind. "Can goddesses pray?"

A flicker of a smile played across Artemis's lips. "Before I go, Percy Jackson, I have a small task for you."

"Does it involve getting turned into a jackalope?" he asked.

"Sadly, no. I want you to escort the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood. They can stay there in safety until I return."

"_What_?" Zoe blurted out. "But, Artemis, we hate that place. The last time we stayed there-"

"Yes, I know," Artemis said. "But I'm sure Dionysus will hold a grudge just because of a little, ah, misunderstanding."

"What did they do?" Reiji asked, curious.

"They burned down a lot of cabins." Artemis responded.

Zoe muttered something about foolish campers.

"And now there is one last decision to make." Artemis turned to Bianca. "Have you made up your mind, my girl?"

Bianca hesitated. "I'm still thinking about it."

"About what?" Reiji asked.

"They...they've invited me to join the hunt."

"What?" Percy yelped. "But you can't! You have to come to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron can train you. It's the only way you can learn how to survive."

"It is _not _the only way for a girl," Zoe said.

Percy had a look of disbelief on his face, while Reiji didn't show any emotion. "Bianca, camp is cool! It's got a pegasus stable and a sword-fighting arena and… I mean, what do you get by joining the Hunters?"

"Immortality," Reiji said, again getting an impressed look from Artemis.

"Y-your not serious are you?" Percy asked.

"I figured it out when I thought of the legend about Orion," he said. Zoe and Artemis shifted uncomfortably at the name. "I read a really old version of the text that mentioned about the Hunters, and gave a brief description that, in exchange for swearing off men for eternity and staying maiden's and serving Artemis, they become immortal, but they can still die in battle."

"Yes," Artemis said. "He is correct."

"So...they become like you?" Percy asked.

Artemis nodded.

Percy's head was spinning. "So you just go around the country recruiting half-bloods—"

"Not just half-bloods," Zoe interrupted. "Lady Artemis does not discriminate by birth. All who honor the goddess may join. Half-bloods, nymphs, mortals—"

"Which are you then?" Percy asked.

Zoe shot him an angry look. "That is not thy concern, boy. The point is Bianca may join if she wishes. It is her choice."

"Bianca, this is crazy," Percy said. "What about your brother? Nico can't be a hunter?"

Reiji still showed no emotion.

"Certainly not," Artemis agreed. "He will go to camp. Unfortunately, that's the best boys can do."

"Hey!" Percy protested.

"You can see him from time to time," Artemis assured Bianca. "But you will be free of responsibility. He will have the camp counselors to take care of him. And you will have a new family. Us."

"A new family," Bianca repeated dreamily. "Free of responsibility."

"Bianca, you can't do this," Percy said. "It's nuts."

She looked to Zoe. "Is it worth it?"

Zoe nodded. "It is."

Bianca looked to Artemis, about to open her mouth and ask a question. But stopped. She looked to Reiji. He looked at her. "What do you think Reiji?"

Zoe gained an angry look, like she expected his answer.

Reiji was silent for quite awhile, before he let out a smile. "Bianca," he said. "You are my first and best friend." That surprised Bianca greatly, as could be seen on her face. "You carve your own destiny. I cannot help you make this choice. I just want you to know, that no matter what you pick, I will support you."

Bianca looked to Reiji, then Percy, then Zoe, and finally Artemis. She took a breath. "I thank you for the offer my lady. But I can't." Zoe looked shocked. "I know being responsible for my brother isn't fun, but it just shows that I'm already maturing. And I wouldn't be able to leave my friends behind like that. So, I thank you once again. But I choose to be a camper."

Artemis nodded. "As you wish. I can respect your choice. You will grow strong in the future. I wish you the best." The maiden goddess smiled, as did Bianca.

Percy sighed with relief, but Zoe looked absolutely furious at this. She looked at Reiji with hatred, but when he looked at her, his eyes were just filled with pity. He saw her as a girl who hated men, and was just trying to force her beliefs on to others.

"I expect you to make good on your promise, Percy Jackson," Artemis said. "Make sure to escort my hunters and the Di Angelo siblings to the camp safely."

"Yes, Ma'am," Percy said. "But uh...how are we supposed to get there?"

Artemis closed her eyes. "Dawn is approaching. Zoe, break camp. You must get to Long Island quickly and safely. I shall summon a ride from my brother."

Zoe did not look happy in the slightest, but she nodded and left the room.

Bianca smiled at Reiji, and she smiled at her. Then they looked to Artemis.

"So," Reiji said. "We're getting a ride from your brother, are we?"

Artemis's silver eyes gleamed. "Yes, you are. You see, Bianca Di Angelo is not the only one with an annoying brother. It's time for you to meet my irresponsible twin, Apollo."


	4. Chapter 4: Thalia's Calming Meoldy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson &amp; The Olympians. I only own my OC character, Reiji Sakazuki.**

**Response to Sharius . Biology : A good attempt at a guess, but no. This is not even a slight Naruto xover. I will admit, I did get the idea of Shinto gods from other fanfictions that involved Naruto, but it is not a Naruto xover.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Thalia's Calming Melody**

Artemis assured them that dawn was coming, and Reiji didn't doubt her. Though it would have been easier to believe if it wasn't as cold, dark and snowy on the hill as it was. Everything was covered in a very thick layer of snow, making it practically impossible to see what was beneath. On the hill, Westover Hall was completely lightless. Reiji idly wondered if the teachers would even notice that he, Bianca and Nico were missing. But he didn't actually care. As long as he had his friends and some music, he was fine.

The Hunters broke up camp as quickly as they'd set it up. Percy was shivering in the snow, yet Reiji stood fine. He wondered why that was, as he was certain it was pretty cold, but he felt very warm. The Hunters didn't appear effected by the cold either, and Artemis stared into the the east, like she was waiting for something. Bianca sat off to one side, talking to Nico. From the tears in his eyes and the smile, Reiji guessed that she just told him she turned down immortality for him. Reiji felt proud that Bianca had made this choice.

Did Reiji want Bianca to join the Hunt? No, he did not. The very thought of not being able to see his friend again scared him to death. But even so, he meant what he said that he would support her no matter what he chose. He could tell that she was intending the join the Hunt before she spoke to him. Apparently his words had made her change her mind. And he was glad about it.

Thalia, Grover and Annabeth came and huddled up around Reiji and Percy. Half to hear what Artemis had wanted to speak about. Half because Reiji was like a human torch. He was very warm.

When they told them, Grover turned pale. "The last time the Hunters visited camp, it didn't go well."

"How'd they even show up here?" Percy asked. "I mean, they just appeared out of nowhere." Nobody except Reiji saw Annabeth's face. It was a face of guilt, and he could guess as to why the Hunters had shown up.

"And Bianca almost joined them?" Thalia said, disgusted. "I'm glad she didn't. I hate Zoe, always thinking she is above everyone. That stuck-up, no good-"

"Who can blame her?" Grover said. "Eternity with Artemis?" He heaved a sigh.

Thalia rolled her eyes and Annabeth giggled. "You satyrs. You're all in love with Artemis. Don't you get that she'll never love you back?"

"But she's so...into nature," Grover swooned.

"It isn't worth it," Reiji told him.

Grover looked to him in horror. "What do you mean it isn't worth it?"

"What's the point of chasing a girl that will never return your feelings?" Reiji asked. "Grover, don't try to get close to the Hunters. They hate men. Artemis, from what I've seen, can tolerate men at least, but she holds no love for them. Just stop before you hurt yourself."

Grover considered his words, before he heaved a heavy sigh and nodded. "Okay. Thanks for the advice Reiji."

"Anytime G," he smiled. Thalia sent Reiji a thankful look, and Annabeth looked troubled. Like she was rethinking what she had wanted.

* * *

Finally the sky began to lighten. Artemis muttered. "About time. He's _so-o-o _lazy during the winter."

"We're, um, waiting for sunrise?" Percy asked.

"For my brother. Yes."

Reiji could tell Percy was trying not to be rude. And he didn't exactly blame him. Reiji knew a few legends about Apollo- or the titan Helios- driving the sun chariot across the sky. He wondered how that could be possible if the sun was a big fiery ball of gas. It just didn't seem plausible...but then again, nor did him controlling the water, summoning the fire or using that silvery energy.

"It's not exactly as you think," Artemis said, though her words were directed at Percy.

"Oh, okay," he started to relax. "So, it's not like he's pulling up in a-"

There was a sudden burst of light on the horizon. A blast of warmth. Reiji's body seemed to want to reject the heat from it. But, just behind that light, he swore he could see another light. A slightly dimmer, but more powerful, sun, just behind. And it filled him with strength.

"Don't look," Artemis said. "Not until he parks."

Reiji raised an eyebrow. _'Parks?'_ he thought.

The light and warmth began to intensify as everyone looked away. Everyone except Reiji, who's eyes were glued to the light. The warmth reached Reiji's jacket, but he didn't feel so that he wanted to remove it. It was a comfortable warmth. He wouldn't realize he was literally looking into a light as bright as the sun without any repercussions to his sight until later. The light died.

Everyone looked. He saw Percy gaping out the corner of his eyes. He didn't blame him. He guessed that the sun chariot looked like the owner's favourite car, because Reiji saw a blue Ford Mustang with two white stripes down the centre. It seemed to glow with power. Then Reiji realized it was because the metal was hot. The snow had melted around the car in a perfect circle, which fully explained why they were now on green grass and their shoes were wet.

The driver got out, smiling. He looked about seven or eighteen. He had sandy blonde hair and outdoor good looks, like he had tanned perfectly in the sun. His smile was bright (with him being the sun god and all) and emitted warmth. He wore jeans, loafers and a sleeveless T-shirt. Reiji suspected that was all he _could _wear in the sun chariot, otherwise he'd burn up.

"Wow," Thalia muttered. "Apollo is hot."

"He's the sun god," Percy said.

Reiji faced palm. "She means attractive you dolt."

Pecy blushed as he realized he had just been pretty dense. Annabeth giggled and put a hand on Percy's shoulder.

"Little sister!" Apollo called. If his teeth were any whiter, then Reiji may have been blinded. "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"

"Wait a second," Reiji said, getting the attention of the two gods. "Isn't Artemis older? In all the legends I read, it said she was born first and then helped deliver you."

Artemis grinned. Apollo blinked.

"It amazes me how you can interrupt a Greek deity just for a minor matter," Annabeth mumbled.

"Hey," Reiji held up his hands in defence. "I didn't even know I was a half-blood until about half and hour ago. Plus, if he wanted to vaporize me, then he would have already."

Apollo grinned. "I like this kid! Not afraid to speak his mind! We need more demigods like that!"

Artemis sighed. "Apollo, don't be a moro-"

"So, what's up?" the sun god interrupted. "Got the girls with you, I see. You all need some tips on archery?"

Artemis grit her teeth. "I need a favor. I have some hunting to do, alone. I need you to take my companions to Camp Half-Blood."

"Sure, sis!" Then he raised his hands in a stop everything gesture. "I feel a haiku coming on."

All the Hunters groaned. Apparently they'd heard Apollo's haikus before.

He cleared his throat and held up one hand dramatically.

_"Green grass breaks through snow._

_Artemis pleads for my help._

_I am so cool."_

He grinned at them, as if waiting for applause.

Reiji just put in his earphones and listened to music. Thalia gave him the puppy eyes. He crumbled and gave her an earphone, and she slipped it in. He put on a Green Day song.

"That last line was only four syllables," Artemis said.

Apollo frowned. "Was it?"

"Yes. What about _I am so big-headed_?"

"No, no, that's six syllables. Hmm." He started muttering to himself.

"What about _I have this cool car_?" Reiji suggested, wanting him to shut up. "That's five syllables."

He smiled, his eyes lighting up. "I like you! That's a great line!"

Reiji nodded. "Yeah, no problem."

"And now then. Transportation for the Hunters, you say? Good timing. I was just about ready to roll."

"These demigods will also need a ride," Artemis said, pointing at the group. "Some of Chiron's campers."

"No problem!" Apollo checked them out. "Let's see… Thalia, right? I've heard all about you."

Thalia blushed. "Hi, Lord Apollo."

"Zeus's girl, yes? Makes you my half sister. Used to be a tree, didn't you? Glad you're back. I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees. Man, I remember one time—"

"Brother," Artemis said. "You should get going."

"Oh, right." Then he looked at Percy and Reiji. His eyes narrowed. "Percy Jackson?"

"Yeah. I mean...yes sir." Percy said as polite as he could.

Then Apollo turned the to the crimson eyed boy. "Reiji Sakazuki?"

He simply nodded. He was not calling a teenager sir, no matter who the hell he was.

"Well!" he said at last. "We'd better load up, huh? Ride only goes one way—west. And if you miss it, you miss it."

They looked at the car, which would not be able to fit 20 people.

"Cool car," Nico said.

"Thanks, kid," Apollo said.

"But how will we all fit in?"

"Oh." Apollo seemed to notice the problem for the first time. "Well, yeah. I hate to change out of sports-car mode, but I suppose…"

He took out his car keys and beeped the security alarm button.

For a moment, the car glowed brightly again. When the glare died, the Mustang had been replaced by a Turtle Top shuttle buses that was used for school basketball games, or a school trip.

"Right," he said. "Everybody in."

Zoe ordered the Hunters to start loading. She picked up her camping pack, and Apollo said, "Here, sweetheart. Let me get that."

Zoe recoiled. Her eyes flashed murderously.

"Brother," Artemis chided. "You do not help my Hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my Hunters. And you do _not_ call them sweetheart."

Apollo spread his hands. "Sorry. I forgot. Hey, sis, where are you off to, anyway?"

"Hunting," Artemis said. "It's none of your business."

"I'll find out. I see all. Know all."

Artemis snorted. "Just drop them off, Apollo. And no messing around!"

"No, no! I never mess around."

"$20 says we crash into a lake," Percy muttered.

"I'll take that bet," Reiji told him.

Artemis rolled her eyes at Apollo, then looked at her Hunters. "I will see you by winter solstice. Zoe, you are in charge of the Hunters. Do well. Do as I would do."

Zoe straightened. "Yes, my lady."

Artemis knelt and touched the ground as if looking for tracks. When she rose, she looked troubled. "So much danger. The beast must be found."

She sprinted toward the woods and melted into the snow and shadows.

Apollo turned and grinned, jangling the car keys on his finger. "So," he said. "Who wants to drive?"

Reiji sighed. He did not like where this was going.

* * *

The Hunters piled into the van. They all crammed into the back so they'd be as far away as possible from Apollo and the rest of the 'highly infectious males' as they would call them. Zoe tried to get Bianca to sit with them, but she said no, and sat with Reiji and Nico.

"This is so cool!" Nico said, jumping up and down in the driver's seat. "Is this really the sun? I thought Helios and Selene were the sun and moon gods. How come sometimes it's them and sometimes it's you and Artemis?"

"Downsizing," Apollo said. "The Romans started it. They couldn't afford all those temple sacrifices, so they laid off Helios and Selene and folded their duties into our job descriptions. My sis got the moon. I got the sun. It was pretty annoying at first, but at least I got this cool car."

"But how does it work?" Nico asked. "I thought the sun was a big fiery ball of gas!"

Apollo chuckled and ruffled Nico's hair. "That rumor probably got started because Artemis used to call me a big fiery ball of gas. Seriously, kid, it depends on whether you're talking astronomy or philosophy. You want to talk astronomy? Bah, what fun is that? You want to talk about how humans _think_ about the sun? Ah, now that's more interesting. They've got a lot riding on the sun… er, so to speak. It keeps them warm, grows their crops, powers engines, makes everything look, well, sunnier. This chariot is built out of human dreams about the sun, kid. It's as old as Western Civilization. Every day, it drives across the sky from east to west, lighting up all those puny little mortal lives. The chariot is a manifestation of the sun's power, the way mortals perceive it. Make sense?"

Reiji blinked. That made some sense. Basically, there was a thin veil of magic that separated the gods from humans, and because of it, the humans saw the sun chariot as the sun they believed to be in space.

Nico shook his head. "No."

"Well then, just think of it as a really powerful, really dangerous solar car."

"Can I drive?"

"No. Too young."

"Oo! Oo!" Grover raised his hand.

"Mm, no," Apollo said. "Too furry." He looked past Percy and focused on Thalia. "Daughter of Zeus!" he said. "Lord of the sky. Perfect."

"Oh, no." Thalia shook her head. "No, thanks."

"C'mon," Apollo said. "How old are you?"

Thalia hesitated. "I don't know."

Reiji nodded sadly. Thalia had told him about her predicament. About the supposed 'Great Prophecy' that was supposed to happen when a child of the Big Three hit 16. Technically, the girl was 19 years old. However she was stuck in a younger body without a clue of how old she was. Reiji had it bad, but Thalia was much worse.

Apollo tapped a finger to his lips. "You're fifteen, almost sixteen."

"How do you know that?"

"Hey, I'm the god of prophecy. I know stuff. You'll turn sixteen in about a week."

"That's my birthday! December twenty second."

"Which means you're old enough now to drive with a learner's permit!"

Thalia shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Uh-"

"I know what you're going to say," Apollo said. "You don't deserve an honour like driving the sun chariot."

"That's not what I was going to say."

"Don't sweat it! Maine to Long Island is a really short trip, and don't worry about what happened to the last kid I trained. You're Zeus's daughter. He's not going to blast _you_ out of the sky."

"He just might," Percy mumbled, earning an odd look from Reiji.

Apollo laughed good-naturedly. Nobody else joined him.

Thalia tried to protest, but Apollo was absolutely not going to take "no" for an answer. He hit a button on the dashboard, and a sign popped up along the top of the windshield. Reiji read it with a raised eyebrow, then he sweat dropped. He was pretty sure that no police officer would be able to read that in time. It said: WARNING: STUDENT DRIVER.

"Take it away!" Apollo told Thalia. "You're gonna be a natural!"

Reiji wasn't too bothered that Thalia got to drive. Sure, he would have liked to drive the sun chariot, but it wasn't something he felt he should do. With what had happened already that day, he was not going to risk more bad luck to come his way from driving the divine symbol of a god. He would just sit in the back and let her drive...and pray she was good at it.

"Speed equals heat," Apollo advised. "So start slowly, and make sure you've got good altitude before you really open her up."

Thalia gripped the wheel so tight her knuckles turned white. She looked like she was going to be sick.

Reiji got up and walked to her. "You okay?"

"Y-yep," she said shakily. "I-I'm just fine."

She pulled back on the wheel. It tilted, and the bus lurched upward so fast that Reiji nearly lost his footing. Though he did hear Percy land on Grover.

"Slower!" Apollo said.

"Sorry!" Thalia said. "I've got it under control!"

Reiji looked out the window. He saw a smoking ring of trees from the clearing where they'd taken off.

"Thalia," Reiji said. "Lighten up on the accelerator."

"I've _got _it, Reiji," she said, gritting her teeth. But she kept it floored.

Reiji took a breath. "Loosen up."

"I'm loose!" She was as stiff she could have been a bored.

"We need to veer for Long Island," Apollo said. "Veer left."

Thalia jerked the wheel, and Reiji held onto the driver's seat to keep on his feet.

"The other left," Apollo suggested.

Reiji took a breath as a song came to his mind. He steeled his resolve, and began to sing.

_"I walk a lonely road  
__The only one that I have ever known  
__Don't know where it goes  
__But it's home to me and I walk alone."_

Everyone looked to Reiji as he sang. Thalia loosened up slightly. Reiji kept singing.

_"I walk this empty street_  
_On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams_  
_Where the city sleeps_  
_And I'm the only one and I walk alone."_

Thalia's foot loosened off the accelerator. They began to drive more steadily and calmly.

_"I walk alone_  
_I walk alone_  
_I walk alone_  
_I walk a-_

_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me_  
_My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating_  
_Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me_  
_'Til then I walk alone."_

Thalia began to breath more steadily. She was no longer gripping the wheel as tightly.

_"Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, aaah-ah,_  
_Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah_

_I'm walking down the line_  
_That divides me somewhere in my mind_  
_On the border line_  
_Of the edge and where I walk alone_

_Read between the lines_  
_Of what's fucked up and everything's alright_  
_Check my vital signs_  
_To know I'm still alive and I walk alone"_

Bianca covered Nico's ears when she heard the swearing about to arrive. Apollo instructed Thalia where to drive, and she did so calmly. Reiji kept singing to keep her calm.

_"I walk alone_  
_I walk alone_  
_I walk alone_  
_I walk a-_

_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me_  
_My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating_  
_Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me_  
_'Til then I walk alone."_

Reiji kept pouring emotion into his voice, and even some of the Hunters felt bad for him. The way he sang...it was as if for him it was true.

_"Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, aaah-ah_  
_Ah-ah, ah-ah_

_I walk alone_  
_I walk a-"_

Camp Half-blood was in sight. Reiji's singing voice kept them all calm as they approached.

_"I walk this empty street_  
_On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams_  
_Where the city sleeps_  
_And I'm the only one and I walk a-_

_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me_  
_My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating_  
_Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me_  
_'Til then I walk alone..."_

Reiji finished his song as the bus touched down. Reiji breathed in relief that nobody got hurt. Then he heard clapping. He looked back and saw the half-bloods and Grover clapping for him. Thalia was giving him a thankful look. Apollo was grinning.

"A half-blood with a talent for singing!" the sun god said with glee. "Kinda wish you were my son now! So, let's get you all out of here eh?"

Reiji nodded, and the people started getting up. Reiji sent Percy a cheeky grin. "You owe me $20!"

Percy grumbled. "Damn it..."


	5. Chapter 5: Preparations, Dreams, Father?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson &amp; The Olympians. I only own my OC, Reiji Sakazuki.**

**Decided to implement some ideas from an anime I saw. No, not Naruto. I was inspired to do this after I watched the anime thousandth time. You'll see what it is when the time is right.**

**I'm torn for the pairing. PercyxAnnabeth is definite. I'm thinking of either ReijixThalia OR ReijixBianca. I am willing to write a harem version of this story if people want to see it.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: ****Preparations, Dreams, Father?**

Reiji, of course, had never been to Camp Half-Blood. It was a beautiful place. But...he felt as if he just didn't belong.

A thin layer of snow covered the entire valley, on all the large houses- _'Cabins,' _he thought, remembering what Thalia had told him- and a particularly large house away from them. A big pavilion with 12 tables rested by a blazing hearth. The cabins were decorated with flickering lights, like Christmas lights, except they seemed to be more like balls of fire. More lights glowed in the woods, but strangely, a fire flickered in the attic of the biggest house.

"Whoa," Nico said as he climbed off the bus. "Is that a climbing wall?"

"Yeah," Percy said.

"Why in the name of the gods is there lava pouring down it?" Reiji asked.

"Extra challenge," Annabeth told him, as if it were obvious.

"Come on," Percy said. "I'll introduce you to Chiron. Zoe, have you met-"

"I know Chiron," Zoe said stiffly. "Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me."

Grover opened his mouth, as if about to speak, but Reiji's earlier words echoed in his mind, so he remained silent.

Zoe and the Hunters shouldered their packs and their bows and headed off towards the cabins. Bianca glanced nervously at the Hunters. Reiji noticed they were rather cold towards them. He was glad Bianca hadn't joined, and expected she was now as well. Nico stood close to his sister, with a smile on his face.

"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters. He winked at Percy. "Watch out for those prophecies, Percy." He looked uncomfortably at Reiji. "And uh...best of luck kid. I'll see you both soon."

"What do you mean?" Reiji and Percy asked as one.

Instead of answering, he hopped back in the bus. "Later, Thalia," he called. "And good luck to you too! Your choice is coming soon!"

He gave her a wicked smile, like he knew something she didn't (which he probably did, seeing as he was the prophecy god). Then he closed the doors and revved the engine. Everyone turned, except Reiji, as there was a blast of heat, and the sun chariot sped off. When they all looked back, the lake was steaming. The Mustang soared over the woods, glowing brighter and climbing higher until it disappeared into the sunlight.

Nico was smiling widely as he and Bianca stood together. He was still happy that she chose him over the Hunters.

"Who's Chiron?" he asked. "I don't have his figurine."

"Our activities director," Percy said. "He's...well, you'll see."

"Well," Reiji shrugged. "The Hunters don't like him, that's good enough for me. Let's get moving."

* * *

The Camp was very empty.

Reiji knew, of course, that it was technically a summer camp. But Thalia also told him that, often, a lot of people stayed at Camp year round. This was because they either didn't have a home, or their scents were so strong that monsters would attack them. However, there were very few people there, practically none at all really.

Reiji spotted a guy stroking the forge outside what he assumed was the armory. He saw two boys, twins he guessed, picking locks on what looked like a store. A few big, burly kids were having a snowball fight with girls with oddly green skin at the edge of the forest. That was about it, there weren't many other people that he could really see.

The large house (Thalia later told him it was the Big House) was decorated with strings of red and yellow fireballs that warmed the porch but didn't seem to catch anything on fire. Inside, flames crackled in the hearth. The air smelled like hot chocolate. A middle aged man in a leopard print shirt, purple running shoes and a golden laurel wreath on his head and a rather old man in a wheelchair, with curly hair and a blanket that nearly covered his wheelchair.

He smiled when he saw them. "Percy! Thalia! Annabeth! Ah, and these must be-"

"Nico and Bianca Di Angelo," Percy said. "He and his sister are half-bloods."

Chiron breathed a sigh of relief. "So you succeeded, then?"

"Well..."

His smile melted. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"No," Percy said quickly. "We just seemed to have succeeded more than we needed to."

"What do you mean Percy?"

Reiji stepped forward. "He's talking about me."

The middle aged man looked to Reiji with a raised eyebrow, and then his eyes widened considerably. "Ah...I see..."

Everyone looked confused, but Grover glanced out the window and piped up. "The Hunters appear to have finished moving in Chiron."

Chiron frowned. "The Hunters, eh? I see we have much to talk about." He glanced at Nico and Bianca. "Grover, perhaps you should take our young friend to the den and show him our orientation film."

"But… Oh, right. Yes, sir."

"Orientation film?" Nico asked.

"What's its rating?" Bianca asked with narrowed eyes. "Is there any swearing? Blood?"

Chiron smiled kindly. "It is rated PG-13, with very little blood and no swearing."

Bianca considered this, then nodded. Grover led both of them out the room.

"Now," Chiron turned to the four demigods in the room, "perhaps you should sit down and tell us the whole story."

* * *

When they were done, Chiron turned to the middle aged man- Mr D. "We should send search parties to eliminate monsters near the camp."

Mr D snorted. "Absolutely not!"

"Lord Dionysus," Reiji said calmly, earning a surprised look from everyone in the room. "Let us please be reasonable. I know that Lord Zeus might be a little...slow in realizing the Crooked One's rise, but if we do not eliminate monsters close to us...well, then when the attacks he will be that much more of a threat." Reiji knew better than to not be respectful to any of the gods. Especially the king of the gods or his son, who was the god of madness.

Everyone was silent for a moment before Mr D spoke up. "So...you figured it out. How could you tell?"

"There were several hints that were dropped," Reiji explained. "The first is your leopard print shirt. The leopard is the sacred animal of Dionysus. He would never allow anyone at this camp to wear something like that, even his own children. There next was your scent. I have slightly above average smell, and I can smell wine from you 20 yards away. The next would be what people call you. Mr D, the D obviously stands for something. The final point would be the literal fire in your eyes. No mortal would have eyes like those, which means you must be a god. Taking all that into account, the evidence points to one name. Dionysus, former demigod son of Zeus, who attained immortality after he made what his father and many other gods considered the greatest creation on earth at the time: Wine." He left out that Thalia told him as well, he didn't need to know.

Dionysus nodded in approval. "What is your name, boy?"

"Reiji Sakazuki, sir," was his response.

"I like you brat," the wine god grinned. "Very well. I approve these trips to eliminate monsters. However there must be a large group of demigods, at least 10, for each monster. That way I won't have to do paperwork because the chances of them dying are low."

Chiron nodded. "Luke appears to have been gaining power. We should begin to implement a greater training regiment. We need to train our campers to be able to wield more weapons. We will gather the Cabin leaders to discuss dividing out armour and weapons for training and battling monsters. Unfortunately, we are going to have to over work the Hephaestus cabin. So we will also need to make sure they have plenty of nectar and ambrosia."

Reiji chuckled. "Thank the gods _I _won't need to attend these meetings," he grinned cheekily. Annabeth, Percy and Thalia looked at him with loathing.

"But Reiji," Thalia said in a voice that made Reiji shiver. "You _will _need to join the meetings. As leader of cabin one, I can make ANY person attend meetings if I think they are clever and level headed enough. And guess who I'm selecting?"

"...I hate you."

Suddenly, Nico burst into the room, a gleam in his eyes. Grover and Bianca followed behind him, although Bianca looked a little bit sick.

"SO COOL!" Nico yelled, holding his hands out to Chiron. "You're...you're a centaur!"

Chiron managed a nervous smile. "Yes, Mr Di Angelo, if you please. Though, I prefer to stay in human form in this wheelchair for, ah, first encounters."

"And, whoa!" He looked at Mr. D. "You're the wine dude? No way!"

Mr D looked at Nico and gave him a look of loathing. "The wine dude?"

"Dionysus, right? Oh, wow! I've got your figurine."

"My figurine."

"In my game, Mythomagic. And a holofoil card, too! And even though you've only got like five hundred attack points and everybody thinks you're the lamest god card, I totally think your powers are sweet!"

"I do have to agree with him," Reiji admitted. "I think your powers are pretty awesome. Making people go insane? Awesome. Able to summon wine? That's just nothing short of amazing."

"Nico!" Bianca yelled, pulling her brother back. "Don't just yell like that!" She quickly bowed to Mr D. "I'm so sorry sir. My little brother can be a bit hyper."

Mr D looked really perplexed, but just waved it off. "It's um...fine. Just see that it doesn't happen again."

"Percy," Chiron said quickly, "you and Thalia go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening. Annabeth, start planning."

Annabeth nodded and left the room, hurrying to her Cabin.

"Capture the flag?" Percy said. "But we don't have enough—"

"It is a tradition," Chiron said. "A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit."

"Yeah," Thalia muttered. "I bet it's real friendly."

Chiron jerked his head toward Mr D, who looked rather uncomfortable as Nico tried to talk about Mythomagic while Bianca pulled on her brother's ear. "On second thought...Thalia, take Reiji and the Di Angelo siblings to Cabin Eleven."

Percy looked confused, but just left to do as he was told.

Thalia sighed, standing up. She grabbed the Di Angelo siblings and pulled them along, then looked to Reiji. "Come on Red Eyes," she called, making a reference to his eye colour of course. Reiji had a feeling he was going to have that name for a long time. "Let's get you settled in."

* * *

She led the three demigods to the centre of the cabins, which were lay out in a U shape. "Okay, here's how it works. There is one Cabin for each of the twelve gods on the Olympian council; Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, and finally Mr D, or Dionysus. Whatever you wanna call him."

Reiji nodded. "And Chiron said to take us to Cabin Eleven. Is Hermes our father?"

Thalia shook her head. "Possibly, but there's no telling. You see, Hermes is the god of travellers. So he isn't too picky about who stays in his Cabin. So that's where we put the unclaimed demigods, at least until their claimed."

"But it doesn't happen sometimes," Reiji guessed, having seen how crowded the Cabin with '11' etched into it was. "The gods sometimes...forget don't they?"

Thalia nodded sadly. "Yes...sometimes the gods just forget their children. You can't blame them, with all their duties and stuff. Though some of the more perverted gods, like Ares, forgets his kids due to all the...activities he gets up to with mortals."

Reiji shifted uncomfortably. Bianca and Nico looked worried, as if their parent had forgotten them. Thalia led them to the Cabin and opened the door. There were a lot of kids, but not as many as there would be during the summer.

"Cabin Eleven!" Thalia called. "Meet Reiji Sakazuki, along with Nico and Bianca Di Angelo."

"Determined or undetermined?" someone called.

"Undetermined," Thalia said, getting a chorus of groans. "Oh get over it. You should be used to it by now."

"But we have so little room as it is," someone complained.

"Why don't you just enlarge the Cabin?" Reiji asked, confused. Everyone gave him a blank stare and he blushed. "I-I mean, if there are so many people that you won't have any room, then why don't you just expand the Cabin so there is room for everyone?"

All of the campers looked to each other. Then they all bowed. "THIS MAN IS SURELY THE SON OF ONE OF THE GREATEST GODS!" Two people spoke- Twins. "TO HAVE SUCH THOUGHTS THAT NOT EVEN THE CHILDREN OF ATHENA COULD COME UP WITH!"

Reiji sweat dropped. "Uh..."

Thalia and Bianca were giggling like crazy as the display before them. Nico looked confused, but there was a small smile on his face.

"Just..." Reiji turned. "Show us the rest of the camp Thalia."

Thalia spoke between giggles. "You...you got it...Red Eyes..."

Reiji groaned. "I hate you Sparky..."

* * *

Thalia showed them the rest of the camp: the arena, the entrance to the forest, the archery range, the pavilion, etc. Reiji rather enjoyed the tour. He was grateful that Thalia was willing to lead him and his friends around.

Nico was looking at everything with stars in his eyes. Bianca looked around impressed, but with a disbelieving look. Like she still couldn't believe one of her parents was a Greek god.

Finally, the group stopped by the lake. Reiji sat on the bank, Bianca and Nico sitting beside him. "The sea breeze is great," Bianca smiled as she stretched her arms.

Thalia smiled. "Yeah, it is. Too bad I can't really go in the water."

Reiji looked at her in surprise. "Why not?"

She sighed. "I'm a daughter of Zeus, the god of the sky. Poseidon is the god of the seas, and doesn't exactly have the best of relationships with Zeus."

Reiji nodded, then frowned. "Hey, Thalia?"

"Hm?"

"If the Greek gods exist, is it possible for gods from different Mythologies to exist? Like the Egyptians or Aztec?"

Thalia opened her mouth to respond, then closed it. "I...I don't know," she admitted. "We're raised to only know about the Greek gods, but I wouldn't say there is no possibility of other gods existing."

Reiji accepted this, then lay back on the grass and closed his eyes. Thalia sat down behind him, the four demigods enjoying a moment of peace, without anything to disturb them.

It was only a minute later, when they heard snoring, they noticed that Reiji had fallen asleep. Bianca and Nico grinned, as if this were a usual occurrence. Thalia smiled fondly, wiping a stray hair out of his sleeping eyes.

* * *

Reiji woke up just in time for dinner. He groaned as he stretched his arms out to the side, yawning loudly. "Urg...what time is it?" he mumbled.

"Just in time for dinner," Thalia's voice came from beside him. He glanced over, nodding slightly as he sat up.

"Where are Nico and Bianca?"

"They went to dinner," Thalia told him. "They wanted to stay, but I was sure they were starving. So I sent them ahead."]

He nodded, then looked to the sky and frowned. "How long was I out?"

"A few hours," Thalia told him. "I'm surprised you didn't pass out sooner. What with using that silver energy, the black flames and then controlling the water too? By all means you should have been out cold long ago."

Reiji blinked. "I...guess it was the moon that helped me."

Thalia blinked. "The moon?"

He nodded. "Ever...since I was young, I've always felt...I don't know. Stronger in the moonlight." he got a dark expression. "There were times I got...hurt, and it felt like the moon healed me."

"What do you mean 'hurt'?" Thalia asked curiously. Reiji didn't respond. "Reiji?"

"Not important," he mumbled, standing up. "Come on. I'm famished."

Thalia frowned at how he dodged her question, but nodded and got up. She followed him to the pavilion, promising herself to get answers out of him.

* * *

Reiji sat at the Hermes table, in between Nico and Bianca. Just in time too, as demigods were just starting to load their plates up with food. Reiji was pretty hungry, so he grabbed as much food as he felt his body would be able to handle. A few pieces of pork, some steak, some chips, and some peas. He looked at his goblet in confusion though. "How do these work?"

"It's magic?" a camper said to him. "Speak to it and it'll provide what you want. Nothing alcoholic though."

Reiji thought for a minute. "Orange Tango." Immediately, the liquid glistened to existence in the goblet. He lifted it up and sipped. "Oh damn! That's awesome!"

He was about to dig in, as were the Di Angelo siblings, when everyone stood up and formed a line. Reiji raised an eyebrow, but stood, getting into a line. He noticed that everyone took turns to stand by the fire, and throw in a piece of their meal: the juiciest slice of meat, the most delicious slice of pizza, etc.

"What are they doing?" Nico mumbled.

"Burnt offerings to the gods," Reiji guessed. "To honour them. That or they like the smell."

Finally, it was Reiji's turn to stand by the fire. He didn't know which god to offer a piece of his meal to. So he took a break, slicing up the biggest and best looking slice of steak he had. He looked to the flames. "I offer this to every god, those that are remembered and those forgotten, to show that I will always remember." With those words, he threw the steak into the fire.

And something amazing happened.

The flames of the hearth turned pitch black, and a bluish-silver light throbbed inside the flames.

"What in the name of the gods...?" someone mumbled.

Reiji kept his eyes on the light. He couldn't seem to look away, and he took a step forward. The light throbbed, as if calling out to him, waiting for him. He reached a hand out, and the light shot towards him, entering his chest. His eyes widened and he gripped his chest, an intense pain shooting through him. But just as quick as the pain had come, it disappeared. The flames of the hearth turned back to normal, as if nothing had happened.

Everyone's eyes were on Reiji, and he felt rather uncomfortable. He quickly left the line, heading back to his spot on the table.

Once everyone had made their offerings and were all seated, Chiron pounded his hoof on the head table. "Heroes!" Chiron called. "A few announcements are to be made. The first is that, with difficulty, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase and Thalia, with the help of Grover, have managed to bring 3 new demigods to camp." All of the campers looked surprised, but happy at that decleration. "The next is that the Hunters of Artemis-" groans were heard at the name "-have arrived, and so capture the flag shall be played tomorrow."

All of the campers grinned in anticipation, while the Hunters just smirked, as if they knew they would win.

"And now, with that done, let us eat." Chiron raised his goblet. "To the gods!" Everyone repeated the chant, and they dug in.

After they finished their meals, Chiron sent them off to bed. Nico, Bianca and Reiji all followed the Hermes cabin, settling down in a space with some sleeping bags.

"Well this has been...eventful," Reiji told them.

"Your telling me," Bianca mumbled. She looked at Nico, but he had already fallen asleep. "He really is such a kid."

"So are you Bianca," Reiji told her. "Your only 13."

"I know," she sighed. "But sometimes I just feel...I don't know, older. I guess I had to mature this fast for Nico."

Reiji chuckled. "Bi-chan, you need to calm down. Relax."

Bianca turned red. "What did I say about calling me that?"

"Not to."

"And you just did."

"Sorry," Reiji laughed lightly. "Get some sleep Bianca. The gods know we need it."

Bianca sighed. "Alright. Goodnight Reiji."

"Night Bianca," he turned on his side, away from Bianca.

Bianca did the same, turning away from her long time friend, and closing her eyes. She fell asleep immediately.

Reiji too closed his eyes, and he fell into a deep slumber.

He immediately regretted that choice.

* * *

He was drifting through darkness. His black hair waved oddly, as if he were in water. His eyes were open as he stared at nothing.

_'I'm dying,' _was his thought. But that wasn't right. It was more like his mind were being...summoned.

Immediately, he felt a tug on his body, and was whisked away, the darkness fading into a new scene.

He was standing on a dark hilllside, shrouded in fog. Reiji saw Artemis holding up what looked like a large dark mass. A blonde haired boy with a scar running down the left side of his face was standing near by, grinning. Held at his side was an odd sword, half was an odd bronze colour, while the other half was steel.

"Luke Castellan!" the moon goddess screamed. "I will make sure Olympus ends your life for this!"

The boy- Luke- just smirked. "Not a chance moon goddess. You will be the start. The start of the return of the titans."

"You bastard!" she yelled at him.

"We're all bastards," Luke grinned. "But this is going to be your burden now, Artemis. And with you here the Olympians will be weakened, and it won't be long before Kronus returns!"

Artemis grit her teeth. "My hunters will stop you!"

Luke laughed a hollow laugh. "Please. We are counting on it. Soon we will have the monster that will spell the end of Olympus! And you will be stuck here, powerless to stop it." With that, he walked away, Artemis's screams behind him.

"That prick..." Reiji growled.

"You really do take after your mother," a voice said from behind him. Reiji's crimson eyes widened and he turned around. Standing in front of him was a man wearing a black Kimono, with what seemed to be a snow pattern on it. He saw the back of it, noticing a white wolf howling at a moon. The man had black hair, a kind smile, and silver eyes that were glittered with amusement.

"Who are you?" he called.

The man shook his head. "We don't have much time. Listen, you have a great part to play, even though Greece is not your territory."

"What do you mean?" Reiji asked, very confused.

"Just listen," he urged. "My sister and brother will claim you along with me, so you can be stronger for the trials to come. You must learn how to control your powers. Your necklace isn't the only weapon you have either. The earrings have their own weapon forms."

"What? Who are you?" Reiji demanded, getting very confused.

The man smiled and patted his head. "You'll learn soon enough," his voice was getting distant. "And you'll do fine. Your my only son, after all."

And with those words, the dream shattered.


	6. Chapter 6: Battle, Claiming, Prophecy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson &amp; The Olympians.**

**Okay. I don't think you are understanding. THIS story is not a harem. After I finish this series of books, I am willing to write this story again, but as a harem. You may PM me who you want to be in the harem (No Annabeth. Duh.) and I will see what I can do. But THIS story is not a harem. Here are the two choices for this story's pairing.**

**ReijixThalia**

**ReijixBianca**

**Everyone got it? Good. A poll will be put up to decide who he will date. ****Also, I've decided to incorporate an idea from One Piece, that being the powers of one of the devil's fruit. No, there will not be any more devil's fruit, there will only be one used and that one will be eaten by Reiji. That is all for now, so on with the show.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Battle, Claiming, Prophecy**

Reiji sat up right, panting and sweating. His heart was beating very fast, his pulse not too far behind. His crimson eyes were wide, in fear or shock, you wouldn't be able to tell. His face had beads of sweat rolling down it, and his shirt was off. He had taken it off in his sleep, and sweat was trickling down his toned body.

A fresh change of clothes were laying on the ground beside him, the tradition camp half-blood T-shirt and blue jeans. He eyed them with something akin to horror. "Oh I am _not _wearing those."

Maybe a god or goddess heard his comment, because the clothes vanished, being replaced with an exact copy of the clothing he wore at Westover Hall. He nodded gratefully, picking up the clothes. He looked around and noticed most of his cabin was still asleep. He quietly stood up and left the cabin, heading towards the showers.

That was a quirk about Reiji he could never get rid of. He had no qualms about walking shirtless anywhere. Be it in the halls of school, down the street, it didn't matter. He had absolutely no problem with men or women seeing his body, because he really didn't care. He was very thankful that the Aphrodite Cabin were still asleep, or he might have been raped. He was also very grateful that the Hunters were still asleep (at least he thought they were), as he was certain they would not appreciate him walking around topless.

Finally, he made it to the male showers. He put his fresh clothes in a locker. He guessed they were enchanted by magic, because he had the feeling if anyone were to open that locker, they would not find his clothes. He took off his other clothes and threw them in the basket labelled: 'To be washed'. He stretched and walked into the showers, turning them on and putting them on high so they were very hot.

For some weird reason, Reiji's body temperature was very hot. While the average mortal had a temperature of 37 degrees, his was at a constant 42 degrees, and yet he was never effected by it. Even on the coldest winter nights, he was always warm. That was also why he needed to have a very hot shower, otherwise the heat just wouldn't make a difference to him.

After cleaning himself thoroughly, and getting rid of all his sweat, he turned off the shower and walked out, drying himself off with a towel and getting dressed. He wore his jacket around his waist and then cracked his neck. Usually he would have tied his hair into a pony tail, but he decided to just let it fall against his face. And with that choice, he left the showers.

Reiji then headed towards the dining pavilion. He yawned loudly as he sat at the Hermes table. Nobody else was awake, which meant he could eat in peace for awhile. He swiped some pancakes and waffles, before walking to the hearth and making the same offering he did the day before. This time, however, the flames did not change and the silvery light did not appear.

Reiji sat at the table, telling his goblet to give him some coffee with 3 teaspoons of sugar. His goblet obliged, and he drank. He ate at a slow pace, as he wasn't in a rush. He fully intended on enjoying his meal as much as he possibly could.

Of course it didn't last long.

About half an hour later, he heard a large amount of footsteps, and he stopped eating, to see who it was. He nearly groaned. It was the Hunters of Artemis. And leading them was none other than Zoe Nightshade.

The girls were laughing and joking, until they spotted Reiji. They narrowed their eyes at him, as if he were intruding on their private area. Reiji just raised an eyebrow and stuck out his tongue, much to the Hunter's irritation, before he turned back to his food and kept eating. Though he did smirk when he saw them looking like they wanted to shoot him out the corner of his eye.

* * *

Two days passed since that incident. Reiji, Bianca and Nico were enjoying their time at Camp. Reiji was discovered to be very good at sword fighting. So good he was able to make Percy sweat a little bit. Though it may have been that his blade, which he had named **Oarashi (Tempest)**, was slightly longer than Percy's celestial bronze sword: Riptide.

Nico was a good sword fighter, for a beginner and someone of his age. Bianca, on the other hand, excelled at Archery, much to the annoyance of Zoe Nightshade, who kept confronting her and almost trying to force her into being a hunter. However, the girl politely refused each time, and was slowly becoming more relieved she hadn't joined the hunters if Zoe was like that just because she treasured her friends and family.

The Hephaestus Cabin wasted no time in starting construction on the Hermes Cabin, enlarging it for the summer the next year. The Hermes campers really were grateful to Reiji for that thought, though he was just surprised that nobody before him had that idea. Really...was it so hard to think to enlarge a place that was getting crowded?

On top of that, Reiji had been made to go to the strategy meetings because of Thalia. Which absolutely SUCKED. He was stuck in one at that moment, just a few hours before capture the flag was supposed to happen.

"We only have a few hours before capture the flag," Annabeth told everyone. She was dressed for battle in her amour, looking at everyone. "Does anyone have ANY ideas?"

Everyone shook their heads, except for Reiji who was eating Nachos. "I might."

Their heads whipped to him so fast they could have gotten whiplash. "TELL US!" They practically screamed, even Chiron.

Reiji nearly choked on his nachos, but luckily was able to swallow them normally. He sweat dropped. "W-well...based on what I've heard, you've all used the same strategy each time they come over, which is to have everyone charge and only a few people guarding the flag. And they appear to do the same thing, lure you away from their flag and sent a hunter or two to snag the flag and return. So...why don't we just do the opposite?" Everyone looked at him blankly, waiting for elaboration. Reiji sighed. "We have half of the Campers guard the flag, and the other half will combat the hunters, while a group of campers will sneak away to find their flag."

Everyone cheered in agreement with this plan, and Reiji sweat dropped again. _'Was this really so hard to think of?' _he thought. "The only question is _who _should be on the sneak away team?"

Everyone fell silent.

Reiji sighed. "Okay, it's really simple. First we will need a tracker, so we will have an Apollo camper, since they _should _be experienced in hunting."

Michael Yew- the councillor for the Apollo Cabin- nodded. "Take Blake. He's the best hunter we've got."

The ruby eyed boy nodded. "Right, then we'll need 2 campers that can attack up close, and 2 more that can attack from afar. So...another Apollo camper, along with an Ares camper that can use a bow and arrow. Then..." Reiji frowned.

"I'll go," Thalia offered.

"Me too," Percy said as well.

Reiji sighed. "Right, then we need another 2 people. One to keep the plan together, and another to stop you and Thalia fighting of something goes wrong."

"That's me," Annabeth said with a smile. "I can do both roles."

"No," Reiji shook his head. "Keeping those two from fighting will be a task in itself if the small time I've been here has shown anything." He couldn't help but smirk at the glares at got from the two people in question. "Annabeth and I will go. This is my plan so I'm the best one to keep it together, and Annabeth can advise me as we go. Advising me is a small task compared to keeping Thalia and Percy apart, so we should be okay on that point. Any objections?"

"Yes," the Aphrodite cabin head- Silena- spoke up. "What about the rest of the cabins? What should we do if your plan doesn't work?"

Reiji frowned, then looked into Silena's eyes seriously. "Pray that the gods are on our side this time."

The campers all gulped, but nodded.

* * *

"The rules are simple," Chiron was saying as everyone was divided between campers and hunters. "There will be no maiming, and no killing. Punishments will result in either of these events. It is perfectly fine to knock someone out, as long as you do not harm them too much when you do. The game will end when one team has captured the other's flag and has taken it over to their side of the creek."

Everyone nodded, the campers far more vigorously than the hunter's, who simply smirked.

"Hunters!" Zoe called. "With me!" The Hunter's grabbed their flag and began to leave.

Reiji watched them go, and all the campers as well, until they were out of sight. Reiji turned to everyone. "You all know the plan?" Everyone nodded. "Okay. Percy, Thalia, Blade, Rick, Annabeth, Jack. Let's go."

All of the people who were mentioned nodded and the groups split into three, with Reiji and the 6 people he called for as one group, half the camp as the attacking group, and the other half- made up of many angry Aphrodite and Apollo children- as the defending group.

Reiji led the group so they were hidden in the forests, just before the border line. "Now, the Hunter's always seem to go the other way." He pointed towards the path of trees on the other side of the creek. "When it comes to travelling. And Zoe's small group, according to everyone, has always stayed back and then followed the same route. We will hang over here until the horn sounds. The moment it does, we'll travel through until we find the Hunter's camp. Blake will be leading us, as he is the tracker."

"I won't let you down," Blake promised.

"Good," Reiji smiled. "Okay. Rick and Jack, you two will remain in the back of the group. Your job is to keep an eye out for any Hunters, and alert us if need be. If we don't encounter any, you'll be firing arrows from the back at any Hunters that are guarding the flag." The son of Apollo and the son of Ares nodded. "Okay. Annabeth?" The daughter of Athena looked to him. "Your job is to stand between Thalia and Percy. I don't want the two talking or looking to each other unless they are following their part of the plan."

"Understood," Annabeth nodded with a sickly sweet smile, which made Thalia and Percy gulp.

Reiji looked to Percy. "Okay water boy, your job is simple. I need you to douse any Hunters we encounter with water. Once we have the flag, we'll rush to the creek and you have to manipulate the water to stop the Hunters' arrows and them from getting to us."

"You got it," Percy nodded in acknowledgement.

"Thalia," the daughter of Zeus glanced at him. "Once Percy douses a Hunter with water, I want you to zap them. Water makes a great conductor for electricity, which will make even a weak lightning strike at least sting them long enough for us to knock them out, or maybe the zap will knock them out. Either way, it's fine."

"What will you be doing?" Percy asked.

"I'll be keeping the plan from going to shit," Reiji told them, making them rather surprised at his language. "If I'm taken out though, I want you all to follow Annabeth's orders without any questions. Got it?" Everyone nodded. "Good." He fell silent as he stared straight ahead into the forest.

Behind him, Thalia, Percy and Annabeth were whispering. "He's really taking command isn't he?" Annabeth spoke.

"Yeah," Thalia nodded. "He seems almost like a natural born leader."

Percy nodded. "Yeah. I wonder who his dad is?"

They looked to him. "Whoever he is," Thalia spoke up. "He must be powerful."

Reiji, oblivious to their whispering, pulled off his necklace and squeezed, causing it to elongate and become his silver Katana: **Oarashi**. The horn sounded. "Let's go!" The 7 demigods sprang into motion and plunged into the forest.

* * *

The sounds of weapons clashing was slowly starting to be heard in the distance as the demigods plunged into the forest, Blake leading them. He noticed a broken twig and examined it for a minute, then his eyes turned to the ground and he noticed some foot prints. He looked at the way they were facing. He pointed. "That way. They came from there."

Reiji nodded, and motioned for him to continue. Blake lead them deeper into the forest, with Annabeth standing between Thalia and Percy, Reiji just behind Blake, and Jack and Rick standing together at the back, looking around with their bows ready.

Blake led them deeper into the forest, before he stopped them. Reiji looked over his shoulder, and saw why he stopped. They had arrived at a clearing, where 5 Hunters stood guard at the flag, bows at the ready. Reiji glanced back to Percy and nodded. He pulled out 3 large bottles of water he was carrying in a bag, and opened them.

Percy took a deep breath as he started to pull the water out of the 3 bottles until there was a large orb of water in front of them. Reiji kept his eyes on the Hunters, motioning for Percy to wait, as if he held the water high above their heads while they were looking in their direction, they would see it rising into the sky.

They waited for 3 minutes, much to Percy's ire, but they soon all faced one direction. Reiji gave the thumbs up and Percy sent the water into the sky as quickly as possible. And not too slow either, as the Hunters turned in such a way that they would see it just as it vanished from sight. Percy, slowly, manipulated the water to hover above the Hunters. Percy glanced to Reiji, who nodded. Percy let go of his concentration and the water fell, crashing down onto the Hunters, that all yelped and screamed about the water.

"POSEIDON!" One hunter screamed. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

Despite the situation, the demigods had to restrain themselves from laughing. Reiji glanced at Thalia, giving her a thumbs up. The daughter of Zeus smirked and hefted her spear, charging it with electricity, before she threw it. Her aim was perfect as it stabbed into the ground and the lightning travelled along the water and shocked all of the Hunters, making them yell in pain before they passed out.

The ruby eyed teen grinned. "Blake, go grab it." Blake nodded, rushing out and picking up the soaking wet flag, along with Thalia who picked up her spear, before returning to the group. "Now let's hurry! We'll head through the creek! Percy, you got enough in you to control the water if the Hunters try anything?"

"Yeah," Percy nodded.

"Then let's move! Form a circle around Blake, his safety and protection of the flag is of the utmost importance." Every nodded, forming a circle around Blake as they all ran in a straight line towards the creek. Percy stood in the front with Thalia. Annabeth and Reiji stood at the sides, while Rick and Jack stood at the back, all of them with their weapons ready.

They moved with haste, getting to the creek quickly and they plunged into it. They had trouble moving through it, and were being greeted by the sounds of weapons clashing. The campers and the Hunters were battling vigorously. Reiji noticed Bianca and Nico double teaming a Hunter, with Bianca firing blunt arrows at the Hunter while Nico swung his sword while the Hunter was distracted.

He also saw Zoe Nightshade, looking furious as she battled the other half of the campers with a group of other hunters, trying to reach the flag. This wasn't what they had wanted. They thought they would have an easy victory.

Finally, when the group were half-way across the creek, a hunter noticed them. "THEY HAVE THE FLAG!" She screamed before she was knocked out by an Ares Camper. 5 Hunters sprang into action, leaping into the creek to stop them.

Percy started to control the water, but he couldn't do much except slow the Hunters down a bit. Reiji cursed. Even if it could heal him and rejuvenate him, Percy was completely worn out from controlling the water earlier. He was probably only running on fumes at the moment. He debated how good their chances where before he felt his entire body...pulse.

He froze, standing still, as did the rest of his group once they noticed. "Red eyes?" Thalia asked, slightly annoyed. "Come on! We have to move!"

Reiji didn't appear to hear her, as he felt his body pulse again. He grabbed his chest and nearly crumpled to the ground. "ARG!"

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Reiji?! What's wrong?!"

Suddenly, Reiji's eyes widened as he saw images flash before his eyes. His mother dying...leaving his friends back in Japan...fighting the Manticore...finding his necklace and earrings...meeting Nico and Bianca...the silver eyes of the man in his dream.

Reiji's eyes became more relaxed and emotionless as he held out a hand. The water seemed to bend to his will, forming whirlpools around each of the Hunters as they became trapped and yelled out in anger. "Keep moving!" Reiji ordered, and they all felt compelled to obey, and began to rush towards the other side of the creek.

Zoe screamed in frustration as the 7 demigods crossed the boundary line, the silvery flag of Artemis turning to the shining yellow of Apollo. The entire camp cheered in victory and rushed over to the demigods, lifting them up on their shoulders. The conch horn blew loudly as Chiron walked out the woods, with the widest smile on his face anyone had ever seen.

"THE CAMPERS WIN!" He bellowed loudly. "THE CAMPERS HAVE BROKEN THE HUNTERS 55 WIN STREAK!"

Everyone began to celebrate while the Hunters screamed in frustration and anger. Zoe was the worst off. She looked like she was about to kill Reiji. But Reiji didn't care. He just kept smiling...before he saw something in the woods. He froze, his eyes widening.

Someone… something was approaching. It was shrouded in a murky green mist, but as it got closer, the campers and Hunters gasped.

"I-it is impossible," Chiron said. He sounded incredibly nervous. "It...she has never left the attic before. Never."

And yet, the withered mummy that held the Oracle shuffled forward until she stood in the centre of the group. Mist curled around their feet, turning the snow a sickly shade of green.

Nobody dared to move. Then her voice hissed inside their minds. Everyone could hear it, as some clutched their hands over their ears.

_I am the sprit of Delphi_, the voice said. _Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. _

It regarded Percy with cold and dead eyes, before it turned to Zoe. She was about to step forward, before it then turned to the one person nobody expected...Reiji. Everyone lowered him from their shoulders as he faced it. _Approach, Seeker, and ask._

Reiji took a nervous step back. He could only manage to say. "Wh-what?"

The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. Reiji suddenly broke out in cold sweat as everyone saw an image before their eyes. A smooth, marble table with a beautiful woman and a young child sitting by it. The woman looked to be in her mid thirties, with long, black hair, glimmering red eyes, wonderfully pale and smooth skin, and a wonderful smile. The baby had short red hair that was spiky, and the same red eyes as his mother, and the same pale skin. With a start, a lot of people realized this was Reiji's mother and him as a child. The Oracle spoke from the woman's mouth:

_Six shall go west to the goddess in chains,_

"M-mom?" Reiji mumbled, in clear shock. The same voice came from the child.

_One shall awaken in the land without rain,_

Reiji fell down, staring in horror, but the voice continued.

_The bane of Olympus shows the trail,_

_Campers and Hunters combined prevail,_

_Atop the mountain, the moon's son shall cry,_

_The void drawn when he holds the sky,_

_The son returns to his origin land,_

_And one may perish by a parent's hand._

Then, while they watched, the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as she'd been in the attic, as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years.

Reiji stared with wide eyes in horror, and everyone gasped suddenly and they all backed away from him. He looked at them all in curiosity and fear, but saw they weren't looking at him...rather, above his head.

Reiji looked up, and saw three symbols hovering there. The first was a symbol that looked like a storm cloud with lightning falling from it, and a sword pushed through the cloud, with a small golden crown symbol above it. The next symbol was the image of a black sun, with the same crown symbol above it. But the third symbol is what caught Reiji's eye. It was simply a large moon symbol, the same one on his earring.

"I don't recognise any of the symbols," Annabeth muttered. "What gods are they?"

Chiron visibly began to sweat as he hastily bowed, and all the campers followed his example. Everyone was shocked by the words that came out of his mouth. "Hail, Reiji Sakazuki, son of Tsukuyomi, the Shinto god of the moon, and champion of both Susanoo, Shinto god of the sea, storms and destruction, and Amaterasu, Shinto goddess of the sun, lady of the heavens, queen of the Shinto gods."

All Reiji could do was open his mouth in shock, and stare at the symbols. All the camp looked at him as well. It confirmed something people had thought once or twice, but was never confirmed until now.

Other gods did exist.


	7. Chapter 7: Decisions & Questing

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson &amp; The Olympians**

**I have nothing to say here. So we'll just get right to it.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Decisions &amp; Questing**

The council was held around a Ping-Pong table in the rec room. Dionysus waved his hand and supplied snacks: Cheez Whiz, crackers, and several bottles of red wine. Then Chiron reminded him that wine was against his restrictions and most of the demigods were underaged. Mr. D sighed. With a snap of his fingers the wine turned to Diet Coke. Reiji gladly poured himself a glass- he felt he needed it- but nobody else did.

Mr. D and Chiron (in wheelchair form) sat at one end of the table. Zoe and Phoebe (who was like the third leader of the hunters) took the other end. Thalia, Grover, Percy, Annabeth and Reiji sat along the right, and the other head councillors—Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers—sat on the left. The Ares kids were supposed to send a representative, too, but all of them had gotten broken limbs (accidentally) during capture the flag, courtesy of the Hunters. They were resting up in the infirmary. Bianca and Nico were stood behind Reiji, since they were concerned for him.

Zoe started the meeting off on a positive note. "This is pointless."

"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped. He began scooping up crackers and Ping-Pong balls and spraying them with topping. Reiji simply sighed.

"There is no time for talk," Zoe continued. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."

"And go where?" Chiron asked.

"West!" Phoebe yelled. "You heard the prophecy. _Six shall go west to the goddess in chains_. We can take six hunters and go!"

"Yes," Zoe agreed. "Artemis is being held hostage! We must find her and free her."

"You're missing something, as usual," Thalia said. "_Campers and Hunters combined prevail_. We're supposed to do this together."

"On top of that," Reiji spoke up. "The prophecy was given to _me_. Which means I call the shots. I believe you know what happens when Prophecy's aren't followed, correct?"

Zoe seethed in anger, but nodded reluctantly.

"Well," Chiron sighed. "The prophecy says that the campers and hunters must cooperate."

"Or do they?" Mr. D mused, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose like it had a fine bouquet. "One may perish. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try to cooperate?"

"Mr. D," Chiron sighed, "with all due respect, whose side are you on?"

Dionysus raised his eyebrows. "Sorry, my dear centaur. Just trying to be helpful."

"Enough of this!" Reiji barked, drawing everyone's attention. "We are wasting time."

Chiron nodded in agreement. "Today is Sunday. This very Friday, December twenty-first, is the winter solstice."

"Oh, joy," Dionysus muttered. "Another dull annual meeting."

"Artemis must be present at the solstice," Zoe said. "She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Kronos's minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations."

"Are you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Dionysus asked.

"Yes, Lord Dionysus."

Mr. D nodded. "Just checking. You're right, of course. Carry on."

"I must agree with Zoe," said Chiron. "Artemis's presence at the winter council is critical. We have only a week to find her. And possibly even more important: to locate the monster she was hunting. Now, we must decide who goes on this quest."

"Half and half," Percy piped. Everybody looked to him. "We'll evenly divide it between campers and hunters."

"I have to disagree," Reiji spoke.

Zoe glared. "And why is that _boy_? You think just because you won a single game of capture the flag your better than us?"

"No," Reiji told her, not at all intimidated. "It's because you clearly think that, just because you have travelled with Artemis, you are automatically superior to all of us. You are wrong. Underestimating your opponent can cost you your life. Your hunters will all make that same mistake if we happen across an enemy demigod."

Zoe was silent, as she had no comeback for what he said. "I would still prefer to take all of the hunters with us."

"You'll be retracing the goddess's path," Chiron reminded her. "Moving quickly. No doubt Artemis tracked the scent of this rare monster, whatever it is, as she moved west. You will have to do the same. The prophecy was clear: The bane of Olympus shows the trail. What would your mistress say? 'Too many Hunters spoil the scent.' A small group is best."

Zoe picked up a Ping-Pong paddle and studied it like she was deciding who she wanted to whack first. "This monster—the bane of Olympus. I have hunted at Lady Artemis's side for many years, yet I have no idea what this beast might be."

Everybody turned to Dionysus, as he was the only god present and the gods usually knew these things. He flipped through a wine magazine, but when everyone got silent he glanced up, "Well, don't look at me. I'm a young god, remember? I don't keep track of all those ancient monsters and dusty titans. They make for terrible party conversation."

"Chiron," Annabeth spoke. "Do you have any idea what the monster may be?"

Chiron pursed his lips. ""I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon, for instance, could fit this description. He was truly a bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster Keto. But if either of these were stirring, we would know it. They are ocean monsters the size of skyscrapers. Your father, Poseidon, would already have sounded the alarm. I fear this monster may be more elusive. Perhaps even more powerful."

"That's some serious danger you're facing," Connor Stoll said. "It sounds like 1 of the six are going to die."

"Not necessarily," Reiji cut in. "_One MAY perish by a parent's hand_. There is a chance they do not."

"But how is that possible?" Grover said in between bites of Cheez Whiz and Ping-Pong balls. "Who's parent would kill them?"

There was silence as Percy and Thalia exchanged rather nervous glances, but they didn't say anything.

"_One shall awaken in the land without rain_," Beckendorf said. "That probably means the desert. I don't know what the awakening part means though."

"_The void drawn when he holds the sky," _Silena said. "Holding the sky sounds pretty obvious...but what on Earth could 'The void drawn' mean? That part makes no sense."

"_Atop the mountain, the moon's son shall cry_," Reiji recalled. "That most likely refers to me. As the son of the Moon god, it makes sense. Cry could refer to anything, from a battle cry, to crying tears." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"There is a chance of death," Chiron said. "That much we know."

"Oh, goody!" Dionysus said.

Everyone looked at him. He glanced up innocently from the pages of Wine Connoisseur magazine. "Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback. Don't mind me."

"Reiji is right," Silena said. "4 campers should go."

"Oh, I see," Zoe said sarcastically. "And I suppose you wish to volunteer?"

Silena blushed. "Don't look at me! I'm not going anywhere with you hunters!"

"A daughter of Aphrodite does not wish to be looked at," Zoe scoffed. "What would thy mother say?"

"Probably 'shut the hell up you annoying virgin'," Reiji said nonchalant. Everyone except the hunters cracked a smirk at that.

"Stop it," Beckendorf said. He was a big guy with a bigger voice. Everyone turned to him. "Let's start with the Hunters. Which two of you will go?"

"Phoebe and I," Zoe said instantly, to which Phoebe nodded. Everyone had nothing to say, so they simply nodded in agreement.

"And campers?" Chiron asked. He glanced at Percy, and Reiji frowned.

"Well Reiji has to be one of them," Annabeth said. "The prophecy was given to him, he has no choice."

Grover looked as if he were about to jump out of his seat, but stopped. Reiji spoke up. "Grover, you got anything that can benefit to the quest?"

"My satyr senses and woodland magic," he said. "I can also play the tracker's song."

"Sounds good," Reiji nodded. "You're coming with us."

Grover nodded, smiling lightly at his friend.

Zoe wrinkled her nose. "I think not, satyr. You are not even a half-blood."

"He's a camper though," Reiji glared.

Zoe wavered, then sighed. "Fine. And the other two campers?"

"I'll go." Thalia stood and looked around, daring anyone to question her. Nobody said anything to challenge her.

"So we need one more..." Reiji mumbled. "Any volunteers?" Nobody raised a hand, but Percy twitched. "Ah Jackson. Glad you made a choice to help us."

Percy blinked. "What? But I...I didn't even ask yet."

"But you were going to," Reiji told him with a smirk. "So your in. Plus, even if you don't get along, you and Thalia are a deadly combination. Plus you have experience on two other quests, meaning you know how to think on your feet."

Percy said nothing, as he was unable to refute his statement.

"He cannot," Zoe said. "He is a boy. I won't have Hunters travelling with a boy."

"Suck it up," Reiji told her. "If you have a problem with it, swap out with another hunter!"

Zoe remained silent, and Reiji could tell he was really getting under her skin.

Chiron looked over to see if anyone had something to say. Nobody spoke up, so he pounded his hoof against the table, as if he were a judge. "So be it," he said. "Thalia, Percy, Grover and Reiji will accompany Zoe and Phoebe. You shall leave at first light. And may the gods"—he glanced at Dionysus—"present company included, we hope—be with you."

* * *

Reiji did not have a good last dinner, as he sat between the Di Angelo siblings. Everyone looked at him nervously. Some gave him a pat on the shoulder and wished him good luck leading. But he felt rather uncomfortable right now, sat between his two best friends.

"You'll be okay right?" Nico asked.

"I don't know Nico," Reiji told him. "I promise to try and be okay."

"Write to us everyday?"

Reiji sweat dropped. "I don't think I'll get a lot of opportunities to write a letter on this quest, but I'll try and contact you if I can."

Nico kept asking for things from Reiji, including a souvenir, but Bianca Di Angelo remained silent. Reiji noticed this and looked to her. "Bianca?"

She looked to him worried. "Reiji...you...do you have to do this?"

Reiji nodded slowly. "Yeah...I do..."

Bianca buried her face into his chest. "I...I don't want to lose you. Your my best friend. I can't lose you."

"Hey," he patted her head softly. "I'll be okay Bianca. I'm travelling with 2 experienced hunters, as well as 2 kids of the big three and the G-man himself. I'll be okay. I promise to return."

"Promise?" Bianca looked up to him, tears prickling at the edges of her eyes.

"I promise," Reiji nodded with a smile.

At table one, the black haired daughter of Zeus felt a pang of jealousy inside her heart, but nobody noticed.

Chiron went over. "Reiji, my body, are you alright?"

Reiji nodded. "I'm fine. I'm kind of shocked to find out I'm not Greek and I'm actually Shinto. It's supported that I'm supposed to lead a _Greek _quest when I'm Shinto."

The centaur nodded. "Yes...that was a shock to everyone. Nobody expected a child from an entirely different Parthenon to appear at the camp and end up leading a quest." Reiji laughed without humour. "I wish you had more time to train. You've been here less than a week and you are already on a quest to save one of the 12 major Greek gods."

The Shinto demigod merely sighed before he spoke. "'When duty calls, it calls you for a reason. And it is your responsibility to look duty in the face, and tell it to fuck off before you do what it told you, but do it your way.'"

Chiron looked at Reiji, surprised at his language before Bianca hit the black haired demigod in the arm. "What was that from?" the centaur asked.

"Something my mom used to tell me," Reiji told him, rubbing his arm. "Though she said it as '**De~yūti ga yobidasu toki ni, sono riyū no tame ni anata o yobidashimasu. Soshite, sore wa kao ni gimu o mite, anata wa sore ga anata ni itta koto o jikkō suru mae ni ofu ni seikō suru koto o oshiemasuga, sore o anata no hōhō o okonau ni wa anata no sekinindesu**' since we lived in Japan. It translates to what I said though. It basically means that when someone tells you to do it, you don't have to be happy about it, but you should make the best of a forced situation."

Chiron nodded slowly. "I see...well, I wish you the best of luck." he looked to table three before frowning. "Have you seen Percy anywhere?"

Reiji nodded. "Yeah. He ate a few blue waffles, don't know what's wrong with him for eating blue food, before he decided to get an early night."

The centaur nodded. "Thank you. I will see you and the others off in the morning," with that, the centaur trotted away.

Reiji looked to Chiron, then at the moon. All the years he had stared at it and basked in it's glow, but now he knew why he felt so secure and safe around it. _'So...it was you healing and protecting me...wasn't it dad?'_

* * *

That night, Reiji settled into the Hermes cabin, with the only two people sleeping close to him being Nico and Bianca. He closed his eyes, hoping for a peaceful sleep before the quest. But his mind had other plans for him.

Reiji once more stood on the dark hillside, with Artemis in chains and holding the dark mass above her. She had changed a great majority in a single night. Her auburn hair was starting to gain a grey streak on the front, she was sweating badly, and her hunting clothes were now torn and scars of scratches and teeth marks were visible.

_'She was attacked,' _Reiji realised. _'They've been hurting her. Probably to get information on Olympus's defences.'_

Luke Castellan stood, smirking at Artemis. "Are you ready to tell submit to us and serve Lord Kronos, moon goddess?"

Artemis roared. "I will never serve titan scum! My hunters will rally together and end you!"

The traitor laughed. "Oh please. Only two of your hunters are coming for you, the rest are campers."

Reiji's eyes widened. How on Earth did he know that?

"A quest was issued for your rescue the other day," Luke told her. "Being led by some demigod called Reiji Sakazuki. I didn't really pay attention to his parentage since it doesn't matter. Probably some worthless child of Hephaestus or something."

The captured goddess grit her teeth. "You will be stopped Castellan! I swear on the River Styx, the titan's will never take over Olympus!" Thunder boomed in the sky at Artemis's declaration.

Luke laughed. "Signing your own death warrant? The Titan's will rule once more Artemis. The golden age is returning, and you cannot stop it!" He turned and started to walk away, with two large beasts- hellhounds from what Reiji had heard in camp- snarling at Artemis.

The moon goddess roared in outrage. "CASTELLAN!"

"Sick her," Luke told the hellhounds and they leapt at Artemis, biting into her and clawing her as she screamed in pain, holding the dark mass as Luke walked down the mountain, vanishing into the darkness of the night.

* * *

The next morning, Reiji sat at Thalia's pine tree at the top of half-blood hill, with the dragon- who's name he had yet to learn- resting with his head below his hand as he stroked it's head. For some strange reason, the dragon seemed to warm up to Reiji, and rather enjoyed Reiji stroking it's head. If people didn't know any better, they would think Reiji was the one that tamed it.

The ruby eyed demigod stared out at the valley as he waited for the rest of the members of the quest to arrive, and thinking of his dream. So...this Luke was trying to raise the Titan's to take over Olympus. He had read about them in Greek Mythology. They had ruled longer than their mother- Gaea- did with ease. Though Kronos fucked it all up when he swallowed 5 of his 6 children whole. Honestly, Western Civilisation was lucky that Rhea was smart enough to replace Baby Zeus with a rock, otherwise the Greek World may not have existed.

He hummed a tune softly, and the dragon let out a soft growling sound as it joined in the tune. He glanced at the dragon, that had it's eyes closed and seemed to have a content smile on it's face.

Reiji then looked back to the camp, and saw Thalia coming up the hill. She stopped and looked at him stroking the dragon's head. She blinked. "Do I want to know?" she asked him.

"Probably not," Reiji admitted, as he didn't have a clue as to why the dragon had sweetened up to him as much as he had. "What's his name?"

"Peleus I think," the daughter of Zeus responded. The dragon glanced to Thalia in acknowledgement of it's name. "Yeah, it's Peleus."

Reiji nodded, stroking Peleus's head. "He's a good dragon."

Thalia simply raised an eyebrow at him, before shrugging and leaning against the tree, waiting for the rest of the quest members to arrive.

5 minutes later, Zoe and Phoebe came trailing up the hill. Zoe glared at Reiji, before frowning. "Where art the son of Poseidon and the Satyr?"

Reiji shrugged, then looked to see Grover coming up the hill. "Well, Grover is right there."

Grover came up, wearing his fake feet and pants, with his crutches at his side. "Sorry I'm late," he apologised. "I overslept slightly."

Zoe rolled her eyes at him, but Reiji just chuckled. "Same old Grover," said the son of the moon god. "Don't worry. Percy isn't here yet either, so if anything, you are on time."

Grover sighed in relief, before looking at Peleus in surprise. "Huh. I've never seen Peleus warm up to someone like that?"

Reiji just flashed the victory sign with a cheeky grin.

Another 10 minutes of waiting, and even Reiji was getting annoyed. He was standing up and fiddling with his necklace. "I swear to the gods, if he isn't here in the next 20 seconds, I am going to take my sword, and shove it so far up his ass that-"

Whatever he was going to say was cut short when Percy came rushing up the hill, panting and out of breath. "Sorry," he breathed. "Annabeth pulled me aside as I was heading over to talk to me, wishing me luck and stuff."

Reiji raised an eyebrow, but nodded. Chiron galloped up the hill not too long later, and sent them off, wishing them good luck. They all headed down to the camp van, and Zoe got in the driver's seat. Phoebe got in the passenger seat, leaving the 3 demigods and satyr to sit in the back of the van.

Zoe started to drive the van, his eyes burning with determination to save Artemis. Phoebe's eyes burned with the same fiery passion. Percy spoke with Grover, telling each other jokes to try and keep the mood light. Thalia looked at her bracelet, which had expanded into a shield with the most horrifying face Reiji had ever seen.

And Reiji himself? He had his eyes closed, leaning his head against the wall of the van as he listened to a soothing song of someone playing the flute. Something to keep him calm and collected for this quest. In his hands, he held his earrings. When nobody was looking, he gave them a light squeeze and was shocked at what they turned into. No longer did he hold a pair of earrings.

He held a pair of silver guns that seemed to glow with moonlight.

* * *

**Hey! Sorry this chapter took so long, but I am beginning to have a major case of writer's block on all my stories. However, I'm fighting through it, which is why I was able to finish this chapter right here.**

**Anyway, the results of the poll are in! Here they are!**

**Bianca= 5 votes = 32%**

**Thalia = 11 votes: 68%**

**And so it is decided! Reiji will date Thalia in this version of the story! I remind you all that I will be writing a harem version of this story after I have finished the 3 books for this series, so please, PM me or review with who you would like to see in Reiji's harem for that story.**

**Until the next time, this is Shinobi Duelist, signing off!**


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